Tausi Insider

Mastermind Toys CEO Sarah Jordan says consumers are returning to a more normal pre-pandemic holiday shopping pattern this year. HO/The Canadian Press It’s the most resilient holiday spending category: Toys. But even toy stores are expected to feel the fallout from inflation during the biggest shopping season of the year. “Holiday spending is going to be muted,” retail analyst Bruce Winder said. “But toys are the last thing you cut back on if you have kids. You want something under the tree for them – you just might do it in a more economical way.” While Canadians are expected to rein in their shopping lists this gift-giving season amid rising prices, high interest rates and a grim economic outlook, they still appear willing to open their wallets for toys, experts say. “Toys have been kind of that shining star in Canada,” said Tamara Szames, Canadian retail industry adviser with The NPD Group. “It’s continuing to outperform the rest of the retail industry.” While toy sales may be resi...

A kid rides a bicycle to power a Christmas lights installation in Budapest, Hungary, on Nov. 28. MARTON MONUS/Reuters A bicycle pedalled by passers-by powers up a Christmas tree-shaped light installation in Budapest, as the local mayor applies sustainable technology to celebrate the festive season while saving on surging energy costs. The tree only lights up fully while someone keeps pedalling really hard, which encourages families with their kids to stop and give it a try. The bicycle also charges a battery that, along with solar panels, powers up the rest of the lights around the Budapest square. “One the one hand, we keep moving in this cold weather. On the other, we can experience how much one needs to pedal to light up a six meter-high Christmas tree decoration,” said Gergely Orsi, the mayor of Budapest’s 2nd district. “For us, it shows an example that sustainability is the future.” His municipality decided to cancel most of the usual Christmas light decorations this year due to...

The United Nations food agency’s world price index fell marginally in November, marking an eighth straight monthly fall since a record high in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 135.7 points last month, down from 135.9 for October, the agency said on Friday. The October figure was unchanged from the FAO’s previous estimate. Lower readings for cereals, meat and dairy products in November offset higher prices for vegetable oils and sugar, the FAO said. Last month’s agreement to prolong a UN-backed grain export channel from Ukraine for another 120 days has tempered worries about war disruption to massive Black Sea trade. The slight decrease in November meant that the FAO food index is now only 0.3-per-cent above its level a year earlier, the agency said. The indicator, however, remains at historically high levels after reaching a 10-year peak in 2021 owing t...

Fans will have to Google it beginning next season if they want to access the NFL’s “Sunday Ticket” package. The NFL announced an agreement on Thursday for Google to distribute the package of out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels. The seven-year deal is worth a little more than $2-billion per season. The package has been on DirecTV since 1994. The satellite provider has paid $1.5-billion per year on an eight-year contract that expires at the end of this season. The NFL had been seeking $2.5-billion per season for the package. It could still reach that total since the league retains commercial rights to bars and restaurants and is in the midst of selling those rights. Commissioner Roger Goodell said during an interview with CNBC over the summer that the next move for “Sunday Ticket” would be to a streaming service because that would be the best option for fans. Goodell reiterated that with Thursday’s announcement. “For a number of years we ha...