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Credit card use jumps as cash plummets

The shift from tangible to digital dominates Canada’s financial landscape, as revealed in the latest study by Payments Canada. Over the last five years, credit card use surged by 30%, contrasting starkly with a 41% decline in cash use. Notably, even though the total payment volume dipped by 2% compared to half a decade ago, the value of these transactions amplified by a significant 21%.

The data from 2022 is a testament to this evolving trend. Credit cards accounted for 33% of the payment volume, followed closely by debit cards at 31%. Electronic funds transfer made up 15%, while cash represented just 10%.

Surprisingly, online transfer payments have now outpaced personal electronic funds transfer in volume, indicating a rising reliance on real-time digital transactions.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• SEC Probes Elon Musk Over Twitter Share Purchases (theDeepDive)

• Payrolls soared by 336,000 in September, defying expectations for a hiring slowdown (CNBC)

• Is Canada Losing Its Entrepreneurial Spirit? (theDeepDive)

• Trudeau Reveals Housing Deal In Vaughan For Over 1,700 New Units (theDeepDive)

• Russia Lifts Diesel-Export Ban That Battered Global Markets (Bloomberg)

• US Nonfarm Payroll Jumps By 336,000 Jobs In September (theDeepDive)

• Are Brands Giving Up on Threads? (theDeepDive)

• UAW Negotiations Are Progressing, Acting US Labor Chief Su Says (Bloomberg)

• Is Immigration the Way It Is Because Foreign Students Are ‘Very Lucrative’? (theDeepDive)

• USDA Greenlit Cultivation Of Genetically Modified Hemp Plant (theDeepDive)

What’s the latest?

• Jobs Jobs Jobs: Canada's economy added 64,000 new workers in September, primarily due to a surge in hiring in Quebec and British Columbia, which offset a loss of 38,000 jobs in Alberta. The jobless rate remained steady at 5.5 percent as more people entered the workforce.

• Grocery Commitments: Canada's five largest grocery chains, including Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart, and Costco, have committed to implementing various measures to help stabilize food prices. These measures include price freezes, price matching, and discounts on key food products. The announcement comes after discussions between federal ministers and grocery executives to address high food costs.

• More Jobs: The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September, marking the largest increase in eight months, according to the Labor Department. This unexpected surge in hiring, along with upward revisions to July and August's job counts, reinforces the view that the economy maintained strong momentum in the third quarter.

• Shell Hunger: A NATO official and Canada's top military commander have both warned of ammunition shortages reaching a crisis state. Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff, told a parliamentary committee that Canada's ammunition supply would last only a few days if troops were called upon to fire their big guns at the same rate as Ukrainian troops.

• Tesla price Cuts: Tesla has reduced the prices of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the U.S. The cuts range from about 2.7% to 4.2%. The price reductions started earlier in the year to boost sales and stay competitive amid increased competition from other automakers.

Silver in Mexico

The stock market and stuff

• Amidst Calls for Fair Pricing, Loblaw Drops Billions on Share Buybacks (theDeepDive)

• Amgen completes $27.8 billion Horizon deal (Reuters)

• Kevin O’Leary Made Almost $1 Million/Hour to Promote FTX (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• Arcutis granted FDA label expansion for Zoryve psoriasis therapy (SA)

• F3 Uranium Secures $15 Million Convertible Debt Strategic Investment From Denison Mines (theDeepDive)

• NuScale surges as Standard Power selects its SMR technology for projects (SA)

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