Who controls our tomorrow?

"Asking difficult questions is a sign of intelligence; when the other side refuses to answer them, it isn't ignorance, it's arrogance because they have something to hide."

This week:

I ask who controls our tomorrow. Can we trust elected officials to build the foundation of an economic, environmental, political, and technological future that allows humans to achieve health and prosperity without fear of foreign nations, organizations, and authoritarian elected officials destroying our democracy and economic well-being?

The Markets and How Consumers Are Preparing for Christmas

Is Canada under threat from foreign nations, and do we have politicians who have been compromised?

Defunding the CBC means that there is a bigger agenda. The CBC is just a scapegoat.

Every retailer's nightmare; cheap Chinese products for Christmas are available online.

China's economic slowdown may be spilling over to the West

The Environmental Plan for Climate Change - Pump more oil

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The Markets: Economy and Consumers

It's like this: US consumers plan to spend more this year. However, they plan on using debt and shopping at TEMU and SHEIN CNBC . In Canada, we plan on spending more than last year. However, it is still 14% less than we spent in 2019. When you factor in inflation, consumers may be buying fewer gifts.

All businesses in all sectors are revising their sales forecasts downward. Those increasing their forecasts are generally rebounding from some pretty weak prior-year performances.

On the home front, inflation in Canada this week was reported at 1.6%; translation prices increased by that much. Economists and investors are betting that the Bank of Canada will move and drop interest rates by .50% at the next two meetings, one of which is this week. But they have to watch the Canadian dollar; if it declines, it will cost consumers more. This is not a positive picture, but it reinforces my view that the rates went too far.

What's next? Retailers need a solid holiday season. I know some retailers who are feeling softness in their business and need a rebound. What I am also witnessing in Canada is a huge march of consumers to Costco, Walmart, and Discount Stores.

The market is always forward-looking; however, it is still very much about AI. As you will note from the comments below about China and its online brands, ignoring AI will eventually be a problem for many. These Chinese brands have embraced it.

Personal Log: Is Canada’s Security Under Threat?

The purpose of foreign interference is to destabilize Canada and make us feel insecure and less trusting of one another. In that case, these foreign actors are on the right track. Are there politicians helping them? Dare I ask if there are civil servants helping them? We know that some civil servants have committed fraud and have been charged with it. And what about private citizens? Are they being coerced or involved? The answer to that last question is yes. The government knows that criminal gangs are being used to coerce or hurt Canadians.

First, don’t be shocked that this is happening; a search on the internet can yield many incidents dating back from 1945 to the present day. From Scientists to government workers who have participated or were believed to be participating with foreign nations. Who knows what their motivations are other than money, loyalty to the foreign nation, or gullible simpletons. And remember the Chinese police stations in Canada??

But if there are spies among elected officials and their parties, that’s a problem. Why is it intentionally being ignored? But if they are elected or appointed and have access to information and are sharing it with foreign actors, they are traitors. Shouldn't we be segregating them from all levels of government? We condone it if we turn the other way and say we don’t want to know. Then, the door to corruption in Canada is wide open, and Canadians are vulnerable.

If I were a party leader, I would want to know who these people are, and I would remove them from the party immediately. Let the investigation begin. How sinister could this be? It could be that they’ve taken campaign contributions or are being paid or gaining favors. Or, once again, they were just simpletons and gullible and felt there was no harm in having meetings with foreign agents. This begs the question of why we voted them in.?

Our message to all elected Canadian leadership should be to get to the bottom of our concerns on spying, ethics, corruption, and coercion faster. If there are bad or questionable actors within any level of government, oust them. An elected official undermining Canada and Canadians doesn’t get a get-out-of-jail-free card. And we should have zero tolerance for elected officials who won’t deal with this.?

Politics - Defunding the CBC is a deflection for something bigger

For the last two decades, we've heard calls to defund Canada's public broadcast network, the CBC. Why do this? Politicians will tell you that this will bring more balanced media into Canada and that Canadians are paying too much for this service. Such a move would reduce the costs to the taxpayers, but they will not create a more balanced media because of it. Whether it is radio or TV, the CBC tends to bring more centered coverage, but as Canada's owned public broadcast agency, it is accused of being more left of center. Even though the network tries to deliver a broader perspective, they are accused of pandering to the left. Politicians, mainly on the right, could do better on the network. But it isn't the network that condemns them. It's the CBC audience that wants the network to have politicians account for their decisions.

What would happen if they defunded the CBC? It is a public service with over 9,000 employees who belong to a union. That means they would become independent of other government employees, meaning a sizeable one-time hit for Canadians as a severance.

This would create a new competitor fighting for every nickel of advertising dollars. That would pose a problem for other networks, which have taken public money as financial aid; they don't need another competitor and have been making their own cost cuts and strategic changes. Some broadcasters in Canadian media, from radio talk shows to TV news, have right-wing views that sound more like FOX News. The CBC is fine when it comes to balanced commentary.

This is all deflection and tied to a?bigger?message that Politicians are sending public service workers. They can't say it openly because it can cost votes. The CBC is a scapegoat—the next government in power plans to make all bureaucratic levels leaner.

Should we look to reduce the cost of the CBC to Canadian taxpayers? Yes. Do we instead shut it down? No. We should rethink this like Canadians. However, as of late, we have been losing sight of what it means to be Canadian. Killing the CBC might just play into the hands of those interfering to weaken Canada.

Every Retailer's Nightmare: Cheap Chinese Products For Christmas

This week, the IMF said that China can no longer afford to rely on exports for growth and should turn to consumerism to improve its economy. Read the Reuters Article. That would be a great idea, but the Chinese economy is struggling because of consumer confidence. And now manufacturers, along with some very sophisticated online players, are selling products throughout the Western World for a lot less than local retailers can even match.

In fact, in a CNBC article this week on how much US residents plan on spending for the holiday, they also highlighted that about 15% of them plan to buy from, Temu and SHEIN There is also another player called VEVOR Tools . They sell a lot of industrial and commercial equipment to retailers, restaurants, and consumers. If retailers were hoping for sanctions and higher tariff taxes, this stuff would still be lower in price.

Now, we have a different problem because of globalization. The globalization of retailing through online sellers will challenge Amazon and traditional retailers. What's the end game that could be played here, and how do retailers respond? The irony is that many online Western retailers already sell these lower-priced products.

The global retail battlefield is transforming itself. If retailers want to win this year, they need to double down on value beyond cost by focusing on personalization and unique experiences and leveraging every morsel of data available to them. I know the resistance to AI is stubborn, but foreign online players are leveraging it and will take market share. The time to save your business is now.

China’s Economic Slowdown May Be Spilling Over Globally?

China’s economic slowdown is spilling over globally by reducing demand for imported goods and raw materials. The weakened Chinese consumer market is impacting sectors like technology, manufacturing, and luxury goods (LVMH Bloomberg ), further slowing growth in interconnected economies. And Western consumers, already strapped by higher prices and interest rates, are looking for deals everywhere. However, news that retail is still strong in the West can be misleading, especially when it's wealthier consumers who are spending. That love doesn’t spread to all retailers.?

Environment: Here's the climate change plan.

Fight Authoritarian Governments By Pumping More Oil and Gas

Sure, why not? Here's an alternate headline from Sydney, Australia. "Beaches closed due to toxic tar balls. " Seriously, we are in one real damning moment. Our economies are so tied to Second World War-era energy use that we can't break away. It would be best if politicians just came forward and apologized and said sorry, but we can't stop drilling and pumping because the economy will break. I like honesty and transparency. That may make consumers do the right things independently because politicians can't. The Carbon Tax failed because it wasn't well thought out. But why should we be surprised politicians couldn't agree if the pandemic was real? Give us a quarterly update from legitimate scientists, unlike during the pandemic, when someone with a doctorate was giving medical advice. It's time to put this in the hands of the public. The plan about pumping more oil was shared with me by a politician in his 80's, who was serious about it. My take is that the old guard needs to let go; it's not their world only.

Thank you for reading this week's issue of The Business Brief.

I cannot make you change your mind; I can only make you think.

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