Netflix Canada is cracking down on account sharing and requiring users on premium plans to live in the same household. Users were emailed asking to set their primary location by February 21Richard Drew/The Associated Press
Make up for a week that was gone? Here’s your weekly roundup of The Globe’s top business and investing stories, with insight and analysis from the pros, stock picks, portfolio strategies and more.
The real reason behind Netflix’s crackdown on account sharing
Netflix Canada’s crackdown on account sharing has begun, and users have been emailed asking to set their primary location by February 21. The premium plan, which allows users to watch TV on up to four devices simultaneously, was often used by friends and family members who wanted to share an account, explains Mathilde Augustin. Under the new rules, Netflix expects all users to either live in the same household or pay the additional membership fee. While the transition has many users reconsidering whether a subscription is even worth subscribing to, Kean Birch questions whether digital companies’ business models and monetization strategies are viable over the long term.
Canadian home sales hit a record low
National home sales hit a 14-year low in January and fell for the 11th straight month. With borrowing costs at the highest level in years, most economists are forecasting that house prices will fall further in the first half of the year as borrowers cope with the rise in mortgage rates. As Rachelle Younglai reports, the number of sales in January was 3 percent lower than in December after adjusting for seasonal influences. And the home price index, which excludes sales of high-priced homes, was $714,700 last month, down 1.9 percent from December. But the real estate industry is seeing a different picture, with prospective buyers pouring back into the market.
High oil prices send Alberta into a drilling frenzy
During this year’s winter drilling season, Alberta’s oil and gas producers deployed 187 rigs, more rigs across the province than at any time since 2018, about 15 percent more than a year earlier. According to Jason Kirby in this week’s decoder, drilling companies are looking to capitalize on high oil prices, a strong rebound since 2020, when oil prices plummeted amid pandemic lockdowns and the number of rigs across Canada fell to just 13. The biggest hurdle for the industry? Find enough workers to run the oil rigs.
Redeem credit card rewards now
If you’ve accumulated rewards points on your credit cards, consider using them now. According to Rob Carrick, there is a long-standing pattern of pending rewards that will eventually shut down. While we’re in a golden age of rewards – so many ways to earn heaps of cashback and travel points – it’s unclear if this will last through tough economic times. Credit cards appear to be losing some of their dominance as the preferred means of payment. They accounted for 59 percent of payments in 2021, then fell to 55 percent last year — the first decline for credit cards in 11 years, driven by rising costs.
A recession is coming – but not as bad as you think
Canada is headed for a recession this year, but Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem believes it won’t be as severe as other downturns in recent decades. As Mark Rendell reports, the central bank forecasts near-zero economic growth for the first three quarters of 2023 as higher interest rates constrain consumer spending and business investment. Despite a healthy job market, the bank expects the unemployment rate to rise in the coming months, which remains close to an all-time low. Earlier this week, Macklem reiterated that the BoC is not planning any further rate hikes after the eighth straight rate hike in 11 months brought the policy rate to 4.5 percent in January, but that it will reconsider if inflation is not expected to fall .
Four RRSP tips for saving for retirement
With the March 1 contribution deadline for RRSPs just around the corner, Canadians might be thinking about stashing away some extra cash for retirement. Tax expert Tim Cestnick shares four tips to consider to improve the prospects for your RRSP savings, including understanding how much you need, the benefits of borrowing for catch-up contributions, and being mindful of asset location.
Sign up for the MoneySmart Bootcamp: If you’re looking to improve your financial fitness, The Globe’s MoneySmart Bootcamp newsletter course is for you. Written by Personal Finance Reporter Erica Alini, this new five-part course will improve your personal finance skills, including budgeting, borrowing, and investing. Subscribe to the MoneySmart Bootcamp and receive an email each week to flex a different financial muscle. Lessons arrive in your inbox on Wednesday afternoon.
Now that you’re all in the loop, get ready for the week ahead with The Globe’s investment calendar.
Source: www.theglobeandmail.com
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