Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was recently shut down. Here’s a simplified explanation.
Tag: money
What You Need To Know About NAFTA and USMCA
A big agreement was just made between the United States, Canada and Mexico.
It’s complicated–too complicated to explain fully here–but it’s good to have an idea about what it is and why it is important.
Back in 1994, the US, Canada and Mexico made a deal to all become “trading partners.” That means, each country would partner with the others to make it easy to buy and sell things and services back and forth. That deal was called NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement.
When countries don’t have a deal like that, it’s sometimes hard for one country to sell things to another country.
Lots Of Political Drama At G7
A lot happened at the G7 summit this year.
The G7 (the G stands for “group”) is made up of seven of the world’s wealthiest countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The leaders of these countries, plus representatives for the European Union, get together every year. That meeting is called a summit. Every summit is held at a different G7 country; this year, it was held in Quebec, Canada.
At the summit, the leaders talk about issues that affect them all. This year, Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said he wanted to discuss: strengthening the middle class, supporting women’s equality and ensuring that more girls can access education, dealing with global warming and promoting respect for diversity.
Some very good things happened at the G7 summit this year. For instance, the leaders agreed to give nearly $3 billion to help women and girls access education. That pledge received praise from many people, including activist Malala Yousafzai, who said, the money will “give more girls hope.”
Viola Desmond On New Canadian $10 Bill
Canadian hero Viola Desmond is the face on the new $10 bill in Canada, which goes into circulation at the end of March.
Viola Desmond was thrown in jail in Nova Scotia in 1946 because, in a movie theatre, she wanted to sit downstairs where the white people were allowed to sit. She didn’t want to sit up in the balcony, where the black people had to sit. The police held her in jail overnight. The dignified and brave Desmond paid a fine of $20 the next day, even though she had done nothing wrong. Today, we think of her for being a brave advocate for the rights of African-Canadians and helping to inspire the human rights movement in Canada.
It is a great honour to have your face on a country’s money. This is the first time an African-Canadian woman has been featured on Canadian paper money.
Nutella Chaos In France
People in France love Nutella, a sweet chocolate-hazelnut spread.
So when a large chain of grocery stores offered the spread last week for 70 per cent off its regular price, customers clamoured to get it. They pushed and shoved their way through crowds to buy as much of it as they could, according to news reports by many organization such as CBC News, The Guardian, Forbes, Le Parisien and The New York Times.
A 950-gram jar of the spread normally sells in France for 4,70 €. For three days, from Thursday, Jan. 25 until Saturday, Jan. 27, the grocery chain Intermarché offered Nutella for 70 per cent off, or about 1,41 €.
Bills Fans Help Bengals Charity
A very unusual thing happened in a football game, and it’s going to help the families of some ill and physically challenged kids.
The Buffalo Bills football team hasn’t been in the playoffs for a long time. In fact, the last time was in 2000–more than 17 years ago. They were the last team in any of the four major sports in North America (football, baseball, basketball, hockey) to make the playoffs in the 21st Century. Now that’s a drought!*
But that all changed this year and the Buffalo Bills got to go to the playoffs.
“Fake News” Is Hard For Kids To Spot
There is a lot of “fake news” on the Internet. A new study shows that many young people in the United States have a hard time telling “real” from “fake” news.
Fake news is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an article that may look just like any other news article–except that it’s not true. Unfortunately, many people can’t tell the difference.
Some Wealthy People “Hiding” Money To Avoid Taxes
This week, news came out that some people have been avoiding paying their countries’ taxes. Even more surprising, some of the people accused are leaders of their countries.
The tax avoidance may not be illegal, but it doesn’t look good, to say the least.
John Lennon’s Hair Sells For $48,000
A Beatles memorabilia collector recently paid nearly $50,000 for a lock of John Lennon’s hair.
World Economic Forum Aims “To Improve The State Of The World”
Last week, politicians and business leaders from around the world met in Switzerland to “improve the state of the world.” The meeting is called The World Economic Forum and it happens once a year.
