Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts. TD Bank’s anti-money-laundering saga. Ottawa’s immigration target cuts. Donald Trump’s proposed 25-per-cent tariffs on Canadian goods. It’s safe to say that there has been no shortage of news this year. In the final weekly digest of 2024, we’re taking a look back at The Globe’s most-read business and investing stories of the entire year. Get caught up on the biggest stories that resonated with readers on a variety of topics from immigration, capital gains taxes, affordability and more. Tens of thousands of international students are out of options International students have been feeling the effects of Ottawa’s shifting approach to immigration this year, specifically a series of policy changes that aims to cap the number of temporary residents and low-wage foreign workers in the country. Tens of thousands of temporary residents who came to Canada as international students might be forced to return to their home countries in the next year. Policy experts estimate that between 70,000 and 130,000 international students holding postgraduation work permits have visas that expire in 2024 and 2025. Most, they predict, will not receive extensions or an invitation to apply for permanent residency. Vanmala Subramaniam spoke to a group of community members who are calling for longer post-graduate work permits for international students and better pathways to permanent residency. Dharminder Singh is part of a small group of workers, international students and community members who have kept a protest-encampment on the side of a busy road in Brampton, Ont. Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail TD Bank’s dirty laundry: Inside the cultural shift that seeded a money-laundering crisis In 2012, Toronto-Dominion Bank wanted to infiltrate New York City with the idea to build out a branch network brick by brick until the streets of all five of the city’s boroughs were flooded with TD green. Against all odds, it worked. TD muscled its way to a top-three market share for retail banking, and the strategy became the stuff of internal lore. But a decade in, the conquest has come back to haunt the bank. The bank faced a lengthy probe by U.S. regulators and law enforcement agencies into the lender’s anti-money-laundering practices, and pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges in October. It has also agreed to pay more than US$3-billion in penalties. Tim Kiladze, Rita Trichur and James Bradshaw and Stefanie Marotta spent the last year investigating the TD Bank scandal and spoke to more than 30 sources – and reported that “a troubling picture has emerged: TD’s problems run much deeper than some rogue employees in Queens.” A TD Bank branch at 38-19 Main St. in the heart of the Flushing neighborhood in Queens, New York City, in August, 2024. Stephanie Keith/The Globe and Mail ‘It’s chaos’: Cottage owners rush to sell ahead of capital gains tax changes Back in April, well before Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation in mid-December, the former finance minister unveiled the 2024 federal budget . One of the biggest surprises was an increase in the inclusion rate on some capital gains . The government had said that it would only affect the wealthiest of Canadians. But it received much criticism from several groups, including business owners , doctors and people who own cottages . For example, individuals who sold a second property such as a cottage would pay tax on a higher portion of the capital gains. Jenna Legge spoke to several cottage owners scrambling to sell before the new rules took effect on June 25. “It’s chaos,” realtor Barb Williams said, adding that a number of clients told her the changes had upended their financial plans. Ottawa's increase in the inclusion rate on some capital gains has received much criticism from several groups, including business owners, doctors and even people who own cottages. J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail The 100 most livable cities in Canada for 2024 The Globe and Mail has brought back its Most Livable Cities ranking . This year, the ranking evaluated 448 communities across the country and considered factors that often define a city – from transportation, to amenities, to the local economy, to housing. One of the newest categories is climate, which was added after readers pointed out that last year’s ranking didn’t consider the effect that climate change might have on a city’s long-term livability. Reporters Chen Wang and Mahima Singh also designed subrankings to help people find the best city for them based on their stage of life – from young professionals to newcomers to families to those embracing retirement and more. The No. 1 spot on the Most Livable Cities list this year went to North Vancouver – which came as little surprise to locals who love its natural beauty. Illustration by Kathleen Fu Why some are leaving Canada for more affordable countries Some Canadians are making the difficult decision to move to more affordable countries amid the affordability crisis. The high cost of housing and other essentials such as food are among the factors prompting people to seek to live somewhere where their money goes further. Saira Peesker spoke to a couple who moved to Portugal, where the housing, food and cellphone service costs were much lower: “I am very much looking forward to being able to try new things, set different priorities, and hopefully not feel like all I’m doing, day in and day out, is working and paying bills.” It was a combination of work-related burnout, watching their friends leave Toronto in droves, and knowing they’d never be able to afford a house that led Slawko Waschuk, 49, and Pedro José-Marcellino, 45, to move to Portugal. Supplied How this retired military member built up an $883,500 TFSA This year we launched TFSA Trouncers , a new series that profiles Canadian investors who’ve accomplished incredible feats with their tax-free savings accounts. In one of the first installments, Darcy Keith profiled a retired military member who opened a TFSA as soon as the investment vehicle was created in 2009. He grew his TFSA by using a dividend strategy, then redeploying the funds into a growth stock. Today, it is worth $883,500 – and generates about $11,000 a month in tax-free income. We have also profiled a Toronto massage therapist who grew his TFSA to $1.8-million, a couple who guided their TFSAs to $2-million and an engineer had a $1.7-million TFSA – until his Tesla shares took a beating. If you have grown your TFSA to half a million dollars or more, send us an e-mail at dakeith@globeandmail.com , or fill out this form . wenmei Zhou/iStockPhoto / Getty Images a. $20-billion. Ms. Freeland had promised to keep the deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year to $40.1-billion. It came in at $61.9-billion. Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here , and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar .Asian Stocks Set for Sluggish Start as CPI Looms: Markets Wrap
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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 22: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah held official talks with visiting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Sunday. Distinguished and deep-rooted bilateral ties, in addition to avenues of cooperation to serve both friendly countries’ best interests, were discussed. Both sides, according to a government statement, renewed their commitment in developing cooperation in information technology, energy technology, healthcare, AI, and space. A MoU on defense cooperation was signed after the talks, along with an executive program between the country’s Public Authority for Sports and the Indian Ministry for Youth Affairs and Sports for 2025-2028. Both sides also inked a cultural exchange program for 2025-2029 and a framework agreement to ally with solar power. All documents were signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah A-Yahya and his Indian counterpart Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The talks were attended by a host of Kuwaiti cabinet members and senior officials, in addition to the Indian delegation accompanying Premier Modi. Prime Minister Modi concluded his two-day official visit on Sunday. He was seen off at Kuwait International Airport by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister’s Diwan Chief Abdulaziz Al-Dakheel, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya, Advisor at His Highness the Prime Minister’s Diwan and Chief of the Mission of Honor Sheikh Dr. Basel Humoud Al-Sabah, Assistant Foreign Minister for Asia Affairs Ambassador Sameeh Hayat and Kuwaiti Ambassador to India Meshal Al-Shemali. (KUNA)Managing overcapacity, environmental pressures and rising costs in shippingIndian leather exporters need to take advantage of India-UAE trade pact to push exports: Official