At Home: Indebted
Christmas is around the corner, and the holiday shoppers are packing the malls in search of the perfect gift. Yet underneath all the tinsel and trimmings is an ugly truth: the bill, which will come due in January. In fact, Canadians are falling further and further into debt?and financial analysts are alarmed at the trend.
As The Globe and Mail reports, ?Canadians have set a new record for household debt.? Debt levels are up significantly from just three months ago, and Canadian households have even ?surpassed levels of both the United States and the United Kingdom.?
It’s not just overspending That’s the problem: ?falling real wages and job creation that has stalled, on top of tumbling stock prices and a drop in the value of pension assets? are contributing to the increase.
Economists are worried that households are now at much higher risk in the event of a ?sudden negative event? like ?falling house prices or rising interest rates.? In a broader sense, economic growth could be inhibited across the country.
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney pointed out that nearly a tenth of Canadians have precarious financial positions, telling reporters that ?[our] greatest domestic risk relates to household finances.?
Around the World: Back from the Dead
Kangaroo care: It’s a term for skin-to-skin contact with premature newborns (the name is borrowed from the kangaroo’s practice of keeping its baby safe and close). For one Australian mom, it took on a new meaning when it brought her languishing son back to life.
As the Today show reports, Kate Ogg’s 27-week premature son Jamie was pronounced dead ?after efforts to resuscitate [him] had failed.?
Medical staff gave the parents ?the chance to say goodbye,? and placed the baby ?across Kate’s bare chest.?
Instead, after a few minutes, the newborn started to move, eventually opening his eyes. At first the doctors were skeptical, thinking the Oggs were having difficulty ?reconciling themselves? to the loss. As Jamie grew more responsive?grabbing a finger and tasting breast milk?medical staff realized the shocking truth. ?[The doctor] said, ?I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it,?? dad David Ogg told reporters.
