Pocketful of memories

Everyone walks around with a camera these days but a smartphone wasn’t the first camera you put in your pocket. Simple and portable, the Kodak Pocket Instamatic left no excuse for missing a moment. Even Dick Van Dyke was on board 😂

Paul McCartney sure knew how important it was to capture moments. It was before the Pocket Instamatic, but he took tons of pictures of his daily life at the height of Beatlemania. He’s making a treasure trove of those photos available for sale!

A wish come true ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)

IN THE NEWS

Feds to remove 20 internal trade barriers

The Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is intended to streamline commerce between provinces across the country, though it was drafted with a number of protectionist exemptions.

In light of U.S. president Donald Trump’s ongoing agenda to impose tariffs on Canadian products, Internal Trade Minister Anita Anand announced the federal government is moving to eliminate 20 of the 39 remaining exemptions in the document.

According to Anand, ridding the CFTA of every exemption could reduce prices by 15%, boost productivity by 7%, and add $200 billion to the Canadian economy.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CoC) lauded the move, but noted the CFTA exemptions aren’t the only things stifling Canadian internal trade and productivity.

"Now is the time for provinces to push forward on broad mutual recognition, streamlining the regulations and standards that make the cross-country flow of workers and goods needlessly difficult," said Randall Zalazar, director of government relations at the CoC.

"In the face of tariffs and serious trade disruptions, capitalizing on the benefits of internal trade is too important to miss out on."

The federal government says it’s already removed 64% of the CFTA’s exemptions, but is yet to reveal which 20 of the remaining 39 it intends to strip away.

ECONOMY

Canadians and Americans think recession is underway

According to a new Leger poll, around half of Canadians and Americans think their respective countries are already in a recession.

Despite the fact that neither country actually is in a recession right now, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CoC) says U.S. president Donald Trump’s threats of 25% tariffs on all Canadian imports would—if implemented—cause the Canadian economy to shrink by $78 billion and send it into a recession by summer.

Most economists agree such a move would also result in significant economic woes for the United States as well, with the CoC estimating it would cause the U.S. economy to shrink by $467 billion.

The same poll found 46% of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque, while the same was reported by 59% of Americans. 39% of Canadians said they’re worried about losing their job in the next 12 months.

The American social safety net is thinner, according to Sébastien Dallaire, Leger’s executive vice-president for Eastern Canada, meaning the overall economy may take a similar hit in scale, but would disproportionately impact the less-fortunate.

“The big difference between the two countries is in Canada, you do have more protection, you do have more backup if things go south a little bit, but in the United States it can be much tougher if you’re not able to make ends meet,” he said.

MONEY MONDAYS

Different types of life insurance

It’s Money Mondays and today we’re talking about a topic many people find confusing: life insurance. Let’s get into it.

There are three main types of permanent life insurance—term-to-100, participating whole life (parlife), and universal life.

“Term-to-100 is the simplest permanent life insurance product,” says Sun Life financial planner, Dave Giles. “You pay level premiums that never change [as opposed to periodically escalating premiums for term insurance], and the payout when you pass on is guaranteed, regardless of age or health.” In other words, you’re not paying into an investment that can grow; rather, you’re paying a premium that will result in automatic guaranteed payment if necessary.

Parlife is like term-to-100, but also involves an investment component, the fruits of which are tax-deferred. The investment is a pooled fund rather than an individual’s portfolio. The payout varies based on “investment experience of the pool, mortality rates (deaths as well as policy cancellations), and administrative costs,” according to Giles.

Universal life is like parlife, but the investment component is managed separately from the insurance policy, and the policy holder can influence the way those funds are invested. It probably carries more risk, but allows the policy holder more control over how the funds are managed.

Read on for more on the intricacies of life insurance policies.

CURIOSITIES

Almost time to spring forward

The days are getting noticeably longer and though the weather hasn’t gotten the memo yet in plenty of the United States and Canada, spring is just around the corner, and on March 9, the clocks will spring forward to prove it.

Most of North America continues to observe the annual traditions of “spring forward” and “fall back,” though many large regions have pledged to make daylight time permanent as long as certain other regions agree to it.

Every year around this time, Google search trends skyrocket for when the clocks will jump forward an hour. However, statistics for what tends to happen around this time of year also start resurfacing, revealing the unnecessary danger most of these regions subject themselves to twice a year in service of an anachronistic ritual that most of both countries agree is no longer necessary.

For example, car accidents become more frequent as commuters lose an hour of sleep on the second Sunday of March. In fact, the cardiovascular health of the population tends to take a step backwards as the clocks step forwards, as evidenced by dozens of studies that have looked into the matter.

President Donald Trump has endorsed making daylight time permanent, and a U.S. Senate bill passed five years ago endorsing it as well, only for the bill to die in the House with too few representatives agreeing to back it.

SPORTS

New era in the Bronx

If it wasn’t clear these ain’t George Steinbrenner’s Yankees anymore, look no further than Friday’s announcement.

George’s son Hal, who now serve’s as the chairman of the team’s owner, announced the lifting of the New York Yankees’ beard ban, calling it outdated and “somewhat unreasonable.”

“It is a part of who these younger men are,” Hal Steinbrenner said during a news conference. “It’s part of their character. It’s part of their persona. Do I totally relate to that? It’s difficult for me. I’m an older guy who’s never had a beard in his life but it’s a very important thing to them. They feel it defines their character.”

George was of a different generation and served in the armed forces, so one can understand where his head was at when he implemented the ban in 1976.

“My dad was in the military. He believed that a team should look in a disciplined manner,” Hal said. “Very important to my father, but again (for) my father, nothing is more important than winning and that’s in the back of my mind.”

Don’t expect to see Tommy Chong lookalikes on the Yankees, as the updated policy requires beards to be “well-groomed,” but it’s certainly a new day for the Bronx Bombers as the season approaches.

MUSIC

Where can I find a number one single like that?

In the summer of ‘81, there was only one girl on everyone’s mind, and according to Rick Springfield, she belonged to Jesse. On top of that, he knew the song was about to propel him to superstardom right after he finished writing it…sort of.

"I always thought every song I wrote is going to be a hit," he said in a new interview on the UCR Podcast. "You have to think that, otherwise, I won't finish the song. If I think [something] is album filler, I won't finish it. Back then, I was certainly writing songs that I would love to hear on the radio."

He credits producer Keith Olsen (Foreigner, Fleetwood Mac, Pat Benatar) for helping to get this particular song just right.

"There was a big long solo in the middle of the song on the demo. I'd vamp on A and play a two-minute solo," he said. "As Keith was listening to it, he was making a cutting motion. So I learned from him to be very concise in my writing. That's probably the main thing I learned from him. You know, make it short and sweet and hit the good spots and leave the stuff that people are going to start yawning about out. I've tried to follow that all along with my career."

STAKE TRIVIA

Norman Leardom

Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was a universe of shows that came from one of the most brilliant minds in the history of TV: Norman Lear.

From All in the Family to The Jeffersons and more, today’s trivia is looking at the works of the mastermind himself! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card ;)

Winner will be announced tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

P.S. Thanks to all the folks who reached out and let us know about the scoring issue with Friday’s trivia, and apologies to those who received an incorrect score prior to us implementing a fix.

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.