Bop to the top

Good morning. The Reddit-fuelled meme stock trading craze is making a comeback. (And with it, the possible return of Reddit users like "Thicc Dads Club" chiming in with their stock picks.)

Retail investors (or non-professional investors) are scooping up shares of meme stocks like Bed Bath & Beyond and AMC Entertainment, but some analysts say they don't want the frenzy to get out of hand as it did in 2021. Totally understandable.

In this edition:📞 Freedom is calling 📚 BookTok brouhaha 🥖 Get that bread (from the CRA)

— Vindhya Kolluru, Editor

TELECOM

Rogers and Shaw let go of Freedom Mobile

Last week, Rogers and Shaw Communications crossed the last “T” on a deal to sell Freedom Mobile to Quebecor-owned Videotron.

• The terms of the $2.85 billion deal were outlined in June and include the acquisition of Freedom’s internet and wireless customer base, retail stores and infrastructure. Although all three companies are in, a number of conditions need to be met before the sale can go through — the most important one is the completion of the tumultuous and controversial Rogers-Shaw merger.

It’s been a minute since we talked about Rogers-Shaw, so here’s a quick recap: On March 15, 2021, Rogers and Shaw announced plans for a $26 billion merger that would make Rogers, Canada's largest telecom provider, even bigger and grow their customer base from over 10 million to 13 million.

• The companies agreed to increase investment in remote, rural and Indigenous communities and create 3,000 new jobs, but said little about lowering or maintaining prices.

Rogers-Shaw already jumped a major hurdle by receiving approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission this year, but now needs the green light from the Competition Bureau and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Why it matters: The biggest challenge to the Rogers-Shaw merger is concerns over competition and its impact on the cost of internet, mobile and cable services for Canadians. Even with the feds forcing the largest telecoms to reduce prices, Canada has some of the highest mobile rates in the world. This is attributed to the lack of competition in the market where the three largest companies—Bell, Rogers and Telus—dominate with 90% of consumers using their services and are able to set prices high.

• The sale of Freedom Mobile is meant to address some of these concerns and make the Rogers-Shaw merger more appealing to the Competition Bureau, but they’re not buying it. President and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Peladeau, dismissed these concerns earlier this month by claiming Freedom would be a weak competitor if it became independent and the Rogers-Shaw deal didn’t go through.

Bottom line: A lot hangs in the balance, but we’ll have to wait until the Competition Tribunal hearing on November 7 to see the fate of the merger (and our phone bills).

— Sydney Piggott

On our radar

• Toronto-based startup Interaxon raised a $12.1 million round to help roll out a subscription service for Muse, a brain-sensing headband that helps you meditate. Ariel Garten, who co-founded Interaxon in 2009, stepped down from her role as CEO in 2015.

• Phoenix Fire, an angel fund that aims to back women founders across Canada, raised $1.4 million, bringing its total funding up to $3.4 million. Launched in March, Phoenix Fire aims to support early-stage technology startups led by women.

• Calgary-based The51 Ventures announced that Farm Credit Canada is the lead investor of the firm’s Food and AgTech Fund, a $50 million women-led fund looking to support founders who are transforming the business of food and agriculture.

RETAIL 

#BookTok + Indigo = BFFLs

If you are a bookworm, and you love TikTok, the chances of you coming across #BookTok (a corner of the social media platform dedicated to book lovers) are high. As of writing, the hashtag has 70.1 billion views on the app. With most TikTok users being under 35, the YA genre is flourishing, and companies are taking note.

Some context: In March 2022, World Economic Forum reported growth in print book sales due to the #BookTok community that formed via the social media platform. Annual print book sales in the U.S. rose by 9% in 2021 to reach 825.7 million. In other words, #BookTok is convincing people to return to print in the masses.

Indigo loves to Tok: It's not just fans of Colleen Hoover and Sally Rooney who seem to love #BookTok. Earlier this year, Indigo, the book retailer we know and love, launched a partnership with TikTok known as the virtual book club. On the central page on TikTok for the #BookTok and Indigo collab, you can find the book of the month, ask the author questions and tune in to hear those authors answer questions live.

Alison Lawler-Dean, Indigo's VP of Marketing, noted that: “Partnering with TikTok is a natural fit, as readers look to both Indigo and #BookTok to help find their next great read."

And boy was she right: Revenue for Indigo increased by 18.9% to $204.6 million in its most recent quarter, up from $172.1 million reported just one year ago. Indigo said its print sales saw a resurgence due to a number of factors, including #BookTok.

Pssst: Friendly reminder that your local library has all of these books, and most libraries are free for users. Don’t get me wrong, Indigo is a magical place, but in this economy, you know we Btches love a good budget.

— Hannah Rosen

PERSONAL FINANCE

Get your money from the tax man

Forget checking under your sofas and mattresses for extra cash: The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) might owe you some money. How's that for a change?

What happened: The CRA has around $1.4 billion in unclaimed cheques on its books, adding that about nine million Canadians are owed money. According to the Globe, the average amount per uncashed cheque is $158. Over the next nine-ish months, the CRA will begin reminding anyone who's owed money to claim their cheques.

But you don't actually need to wait for the CRA to remind you to claim your cheque. Here's how: Log in to your CRA account and go to "Uncashed Cheques" under the Related Services tab to see if you're owed any money.

• If you're registered for direct deposit, the money will go straight into your bank account. If not, you'll receive a cheque by mail, and if that's the case, double-check that your mailing address on file is correct.

Bottom line: At a time when soaring inflation has forced me to pay an eye-watering $6 (sometimes $7!) for a latte, we know $158 isn't much. But hey, we'll take whatever we can get.

— Vindhya Kolluru

Other things we read and we liked

📺 We've been loving the new season of Never Have I Ever on Netflix. If this is your first time hearing about the show, it stars Canadian actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and is the perfect mishmash of high school drama, comedy and teenage angst.

🤔 Could figuring out what your 'anti-goals' (the things you don't want in your life) are help you better plan for the future?

📌 Audrey Gelman, co-founder of The Wing co-working space, is moving past the controversy that engulfed her company by opening a tiny antiques store in Brooklyn. This is her story.

🏡 A personal finance expert's tips for Gen Z or millennials who want to get into the red-hot housing market.

💡 In this TikTok, Katie Welch, the CMO of Rare Beauty, shares what she wishes she knew at the start of her career.