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Tuesday July 12, 2022

July 12, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 12, 2022

Rogers outage won’t ‘sink’ $26-billion deal to buy Shaw, competition expert says

March 19, 2021

As the fallout from the Rogers Communications Inc. service outage continues to play out, one competition expert says she doesn’t think it will “sink” the telecom giant’s proposed $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc., but believes it will make everyone pay closer attention to the deal.

In an interview on Monday, University of Ottawa professor Jennifer Quaid said the only way the outage would have a negative impact on the deal would be if there was any evidence showing Rogers displayed a lack of thoroughness in reporting the circumstances due to limited competition in the market.

Quaid also said that there is now a bigger opportunity for regulators to take a closer look at cost savings from the proposed deal and whether those savings would come from eliminating redundancy systems and reducing technical staff.

Telecom researcher Ben Klass said the outage shows that further consolidation and concentration of power in the market is “a bad idea” for Canada.

“We are used to hearing that ‘bigger is better’ when it comes to telecommunication and technology companies, but last weekend’s outage shows that there are also significant risks associated with putting too many eggs in one basket,” he said. “There is strength and value in diversity and decentralization.”

Edward Jones analyst David Heger said the network outage is an additional risk factor for the Rogers-Shaw transaction, but doesn’t believe it will actually hurt it.

“Regulators may point to the outage as another reason why the merger concentrates too much customer traffic with one operator,” he said. “However, I still believe that the proposed sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile wireless operations to Quebecor (Inc.) should address this concern.”

The deadline for Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor to reach a definitive agreement on the sale of Freedom is July 15. (Yahoo Finance)

Thursday February 11, 2016

February 10, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 11, 2016

Netflix border crackdown cuts off some customers, but unblocking services fight back

Yes, the Netflix crackdown on cross-border watching is real.

Customers worldwide have grown accustomed to sneaking over virtual walls to stream shows and movies restricted to other countries.

Now, Netflix is stopping some virtual travellers at the border, finally enforcing its age-old policy that says viewers aren’t allowed to access Netflix in other regions.

Meanwhile, unblocking companies that help virtual travellers defy the rules are fighting back. And some are already declaring victory in the battle to keep Netflix’s borders wide open.

Numerous customers with the unblocking company Unblock-Us started reporting technical problems soon after Netflix announced its crackdown on Jan. 14.

For a fee, unblocking services do the technical legwork to help customers hide their location so they can hop borders.

For example, the service would help a Netflix Canada customer watch Sons of Anarchy on Netflix U.S. The Canadian version doesn’t carry the show.

“Help,” wrote one border hopping customer on the Unblock-Us tech support site on Jan. 27, explaining that he lives in Toronto and can no longer stream content on Netflix UK.

Another customer posted, “I live in Norway and am currently using your service to watch American Netflix, but now it doesn’t work anymore.”

“Netflix blocked in Australia,” reported someone else.

Barbados-based Unblock-Us did not respond to CBC News’s request for comment. But a post on its site updated on Feb. 3 declared, “We have a solution.”

It said blocked customers need to contact the support team, which would “have some simple steps for you to follow” to resume service. (Source: CBC News)

Thursday August 27, 2015

August 26, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 27, 2015

Declining dollar has Canadians rethinking cross-border shopping habits

Many Canadians are wondering if they can cram some last-minute cross-border travel plans into the next few weeks while others are already deep into back-to-school shopping excursions. And money – more than ever before – is taking precedent in the planning.

While it has not been definitively declared a recession, Canada’s shrinking economy certainly has some residents concerned. According to a recent survey from digital offers RetailMeNot.ca, 73% of Canadians are worried about the nation’s economy. July’s interest-rate cut was made in hopes of stimulating growth, but only 31% of survey respondents feel confident that the Canadian dollar will strengthen before the end of the year – making it more important than ever for Canadians to stretch their income further.

The current state of the economy has Canadians paying more attention to their spending habits. Sixty-five per cent agree that it’s important to stick to a budget no matter the personal sacrifice, with 62% stating that cutting back has them missing out on certain activities. Research shows other habits Canadians are adopting to save money include buying everything on sale (72%), limiting meals at restaurants (62%), searching for coupon and promo codes (49%) and taking public transportation or carpooling (18%).

“Nearly half of Canadians are worried about being able to afford everything they need this year,” says Kristen Larrea for RetailMeNot, Inc., operators of the world’s largest marketplace for digital offers. “However, with a little savvy spending, consumers should be able to satisfy their needs and wants throughout 2015. Simple behavioural changes, such as utilizing price comparison tools and checking for online promo codes, will help Canadians maximize their purchasing power, so they can get more for their money.” (Source: Toronto Sun)

Friday December 23, 2011

December 23, 2011 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 23, 2011

The Last-Minute Club

According to the BMO Holiday Spending Survey, fewer Canadians are waiting until the last minute to cross names off of their holiday shopping list, with the majority planning their shopping weeks or months in advance (44 per cent and 37 per cent respectively).
However, one-in-ten (11 per cent) still don’t begin their holiday shopping until the last minute, leaving themselves only a few days to wrap up their gift giving.

“With Canadian families balancing busier schedules more than ever before, it’s no surprise that a few shoppers will be rushing around at the last-minute. However, this last-minute rush can often cause people to make impulse decisions and sometimes over-spend extend themselves on gift buying,” said Su McVey, Vice President, BMO Bank of Montreal. “Planning ahead and establishing a budget early on to cap and track holiday spending can help avoid last-minute spending pitfalls.”

Ms. McVey added that online banking features, including tools such as BMO MoneyLogic(TM), allow Canadians to set spending limits and get immediate insights into whether or not they are staying on track.

So as Canada’s last-minute shoppers rush to cross names off their shopping lists, BMO Bank of Montreal offers the following Do’s and Don’ts for the frantic, time-crunched holiday shopper:

Don’t Panic – You still have time to get everything done. Keep your shopping list handy at all times and try to pick up one or two items when you can – either during your lunch hour or after work. A call ahead to the retailer can confirm whether or not your item is in stock. Ask them to hold it for you so you can get in and out of the store quickly. (Source: Marketwatch)

Tuesday June 15, 2010

June 15, 2010 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday June 15, 2010

Planning for the Future

For the past two years, the federal government and provincial finance ministers have been looking at what to do to help Canadians better prepare for retirement.

When the bottom fell out of the stock market in the financial crisis that swept the world in 2008, company pensions and registered retirement savings plans were hit hard. It was feared that some pension plans would not be able to meet their obligations to current and future retirees — and that some retirees would have no pension at all if the companies they worked for went bankrupt.

People who had to rely on RRSP savings faced the prospect of having to work several years longer than planned to make up for their losses.

While markets have recovered much of what they gave up and many plans that were at risk are solvent again, Canadians are still worried about what their retirements will look like.

An Ipsos Reid poll commissioned for the Canadian Institute of Actuaries suggests 42 per cent of Canadians over the age of 45 feel they are not financially prepared to live comfortably after they leave the workforce.

Seventy-two per cent said they were concerned about maintaining a reasonable standard of living in retirement.

A similar poll done by Ipsos Reid in November 2006 for BMO Financial Group suggested that 70 per cent of Canadians don’t feel they’re on track with their retirement savings — or don’t know if they’re on track. (Source: CBC News)