Sponsored by Heritage Mining

Buy now pay later fueled holiday weekend

The surge in popularity of ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) services has become a notable trend in the United States, with debt-ridden consumers increasingly turning to this credit lifeline, contributing to record sales during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events. This financial phenomenon appears to serve as an additional support for consumers who find themselves entangled in spending beyond their means.

According to data from Adobe Analytics, a growing number of Americans opted for short-term loans that allow for installment payments over weeks or months when making purchases on Cyber Monday.

The report highlights a substantial uptick in the utilization of BNPL services, with consumers collectively spending over $940 million on goods, reflecting a significant 42.5% increase from the previous year. This figure far surpassed Adobe’s earlier estimate of 18.8%.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Liquid Death Defies Potentially Costly Legal Trouble By Renaming Drink As “Dead Billionaire” (theDeepDive)

• Federal government reaches deal with Google on Online News Act (CBC)

• An Old Profile Reveals Sam Altman Has Guns and IDF Gas Masks In Case AI Takes Over (theDeepDive)

• Almost A Quarter of Americans Now Believe in QAnon (theDeepDive)

• U.S. economic growth for last quarter is revised up to a 5.2% annual rate (BNN)

• Internal Moderna Report Tags Elon Musk, Novak Djokovic, and Russell Brand as ‘High Risk’ (theDeepDive)

• Porter, Air Transat launch joint venture to gird against domestic competition (BNN)

• FDIC Faces More Demands for Evidence of Toxic Culture at Bank Regulator (WSJ)

• Apple Ends Partnership With Goldman Sachs (theDeepDive)

• Labour shortages cost businesses $38B in potential revenue: CFIB report (BNN)

What’s the latest?

• Google Settles On C-18: Google and the Canadian federal government have reached an agreement regarding the Online News Act, which will see Google continue to share Canadian news on its platforms. In return, Google will make annual payments to Canadian news companies, estimated to be around $100 million. This agreement comes after discussions about the amount of compensation, with the government initially suggesting about $172 million and Google estimating $100 million.

• SEC Under Scrutiny: The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing the legality of the SEC’s in-house tribunal system, following an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration against a lower court ruling. This lower court, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, had deemed the SEC's proceedings unconstitutional, arguing they violate the Seventh Amendment's right to a jury trial and infringe on presidential and congressional powers.

• Crop Success: Crop receipts in Canada for the first three quarters of 2023 increased by 12.1% compared to the previous year, reaching $41.4 billion. This growth is attributed to a rebound in production levels after the severe drought in Western Canada in 2021. Marketings for Canada's top crops like canola, wheat, and durum wheat increased significantly, over 30% each, although prices for these crops declined, with canola dropping by 15.5% and durum wheat by 17.9%.

• Government Spyware: Thirteen federal departments and agencies in Canada are using spyware typically associated with intelligence services, as revealed by contracts obtained under access to information legislation. This spyware can recover and analyze data from various digital devices, including encrypted and password-protected content, as well as access cloud-based data and internet history.

• Finnish-Russian Dispute: Finland is temporarily closing its 1,340-kilometre eastern border with Russia in response to an unusually high number of migrants arriving this month, which the Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has described as a "hybrid attack" by Moscow. Finnish officials believe Russia is directing third-country migrants to its border as possible retaliation for Finland's decision to join NATO.

What happened to WeWork

The stock market and stuff

• First Quantum’s Concession Contract At Cobre Panama Ruled Unconstitutional, Mining Suspended (theDeepDive)

• Nvidia CEO: U.S. chipmakers at least a decade away from China supply chain independence (CNBC)

• After Binance Crackdown, Is Tether Next? (theDeepDive)

• GM sees $9.3 billion hit from labor deals, outlines $10 billion stock buyback (Reuters)

• What Is Going On With Justin Sun? (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• First Phosphate Enters MOU For Lithium Iron Phosphate CAM Manufacturing Operation (theDeepDive)

• Alaska Energy Metals Sells Proprietary Data To KoBold Metals (theDeepDive)

• Filo Mining Drills 1,014 Metres Of 0.66% Copper In Latest Results (theDeepDive)

FULL DISCLOSURE: Heritage Mining is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Heritage Mining. The author has been compensated to cover Heritage Mining on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.