According to Canada’s statistics agency, income inequality in Canada under Justin Trudeau has reached an unprecedented high, with wealth becoming more and more concentrated among a small number of individuals.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that the disparity in disposable income between the wealthiest two-fifths of Canadians and the lowest two-fifths widened to 47 percentage points in the second quarter of 2024.

“The report indicated that although elevated interest rates may result in greater borrowing expenses for families, they can simultaneously contribute to enhanced returns on savings and investment accounts.”

“Households with lower incomes often face challenges in capitalizing on these increased returns, primarily due to having fewer resources at their disposal for saving and investing.”

In a noteworthy development, individuals in the lowest 20 percent experienced a modest uptick in their disposable income share, attributed to wage growth. Conversely, the middle 60 percent of Canadians faced a decline in their income share.

According to the latest findings from Statistics Canada, during the second quarter, the wealth distribution revealed that the wealthiest 20 per cent of Canadians possessed over two-thirds of the nation’s total wealth, with an average of $3.4 million per household.

In contrast, the lowest 40 per cent of Canadians held a mere 2.8 per cent of the nation’s wealth under Trudeau’s leadership.

In response to concerns regarding increasing income inequality in Canada, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland emphasized that the Trudeau government is committed to implementing policies aimed at supporting middle-class and lower-income Canadians, including initiatives like childcare and dental care programs.

“We are working diligently to counteract the growing trend of inequality in the global economy,” she stated during a press conference on Thursday. “We are taking a firm stance with targeted policies aimed at assisting middle-class Canadians and those striving to achieve that status.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attributed the increasing wealth and income disparities to the policies implemented by Justin Trudeau.

“Today, StatsCanada revealed that the disparity between the wealthy and the impoverished has reached unprecedented heights, following the monetary policies of the NDP-Liberal government that have disproportionately benefited the ultra-rich while driving up living costs for the rest of the population,” he stated during a press conference.

This marks the largest disparity noted since 1999, the year Statistics Canada began its data collection efforts.

The analysis indicated that the widening gap was primarily influenced by the top 20 percent of income earners, who experienced the most significant rise in their share of disposable income, according to the findings.

The rise was primarily fueled by investment gains, a trend the statistics agency linked to elevated interest rates.

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Last year, Ikea reduced prices on over 2,000 products to offer inflation-weary customers a reprieve. Although this resulted in an increase in orders, revenue declined for the first time in four years as discounts cut into its bottom line.

Ikea’s sales fell 4% to €45.1 billion ($49.3 billion) in the fiscal year 2024, which ran from September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024, the Swedish business said Thursday.

Ikea Revenue Falls After It Lowered Prices

Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, has stated that it has no regrets about emphasizing “lowering the prices” in a $2 billion discount push across all of its locations worldwide.

In a news release, Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ingka Group, Ikea’s largest franchisee, stated that “inflation and interest rates have impacted people’s wallets, and when times are challenging for people, we want to support in the best possible way.”

“Investing into lowering our prices is our long-term promise and this has been a year where the strength of the Ikea vision, our togetherness, and our entrepreneurship lived up to the test of time,” he tweeted.

Ikea, like its competitors, has gradually raised prices since the Covid-19 high in 2020, as material and transportation costs have risen. Last year, the company’s main discount promotion reduced the price of several of its most popular items, including the Billy bookcase.

Ikea Revenue Falls After It Lowered Prices

Lower prices increased visitors to its stores and website by 21%. Ikea sold 1.2 billion meatballs this year, and a company representative told CNN that it also sold more meals at its cafés.

Ikea has announced that it will provide additional reductions this year, although they will be less.

SOURCE | CNN

Marriott International has agreed to pay $52 million and make improvements to improve its data security in order to satisfy state and federal claims stemming from catastrophic data breaches that affected over 300 million of its customers globally.

On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission and a consortium of attorneys general from 49 states and the District of Columbia announced separate settlement agreements with Marriott. The FTC and the states conducted parallel investigations into three data breaches that occurred between 2014 and 2020.

Marriott Agrees To Pay $52 Million, Beef Up Data Security To Resolve Probes Over Data Breaches

According to the FTC’s proposed complaint, the data breaches enabled “malicious actors” to collect passport information, payment card numbers, loyalty numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, and/or personal information from hundreds of millions of consumers.

The FTC stated that the breaches were caused by weak data security measures at Marriott and its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Specifically, the agency said that the hotel operator failed to secure its computer system with proper password management, network monitoring, or other data-protection methods.

As part of its proposed settlement with the FTC, Marriott agreed to “implement a robust information security program” and give all U.S. customers with a method to request the deletion of any personal information connected with their email address or loyalty rewards account number.

Marriott also paid similar charges filed by a group of attorneys general. In addition to committing to improve its data security processes, the hotel operator will pay a $52 million penalty, which will be shared among the states.

Marriott, based in Bethesda, Maryland, stated on its website Wednesday that its agreements with the FTC and states included no acknowledgment of liability. It also stated that it has already implemented data privacy and information security measures.

In early 2020, Marriott discovered that an unexpected amount of visitor information was accessed using the login credentials of two workers at a franchisee location. At the time, the business assessed that the personal information of approximately 5.2 million guests worldwide may have been compromised.

Marriott Agrees To Pay $52 Million, Beef Up Data Security To Resolve Probes Over Data Breaches

In November 2018, Marriott reported a huge data breach in which hackers gained access to information on up to 383 million guests. In that case, Marriott stated that unencrypted passport numbers for at least 5.25 million visitors were accessed, as well as credit card information for 8.6 million guests. Starwood operated the affected hotel brands prior to its acquisition by Marriott in 2016.

The FBI spearheaded the investigation into the data theft, and investigators assumed the hackers were working for China’s Ministry of State Security, which is roughly similar to the CIA.

SOURCE | AP