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For the fifth consecutive time, the Bank of Canada has cut its key interest rate. Down half a per cent, the rate now sits at 3.25 per cent. This, after Canada’s economy grew by one per cent in the third quarter of 2024, and the fourth quarter is looking weaker than projected, according to the Bank of Canada. In London, the CEO of the London – St. Thomas Association of Realtors (STAR), says while it isn’t a big drop, it’s reassuring to see the interest rate head in the right direction. “It's not a huge difference financially, but it's more, I think, the perception and the understanding that it is going to go to a reasonable, a better level. And we're, we're anticipating a really good impact on the market in the new year,” said Bill Madder. “We're quite happy that it's not a huge jump or that we don't anticipate a huge jump in the market. Slow and steady. That's a much better way for a real estate market to go.” Meanwhile, local mortgage experts agree this cut will be positive for the region. “It's going to be a big impact on two fronts. I mean, people that are currently carrying a variable rate mortgage where the payments will fluctuate with the rate. They're going to see a pretty good discount on what they're paying now, which is probably going to alleviate some pressure on them,” said mortgage broker Mike Hattim. “A lot of people, you know, they're fearful of getting into the into the market with home prices being almost three times what they were 10 years ago. I think that now they're going to feel a little bit more comfort in getting into the market. And I think this is a positive.” The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is Jan. 29, 2025. The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is Jan. 29, 2025. — With files from CTV’s Mike Le Couteur and CTV London's Brent Lale Shopping Trends The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us. 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If there's one thing you should know about me, it's that I am a creature of habit. In 2020 and the four years prior, I had a standing Brazilian appointment at European Wax Center and you could find me there, like clockwork, every four weeks. I was always told that, no matter what, I shouldn't try shaving in between waxes because it would make the next session more painful. When my city closed all nonessential businesses at the start of the pandemic, I held out for a little over a month before coming to the realization that I was going to have to shave . I had always dutifully listened to my aesthetician's advice, but I was at the point where I couldn't take it much longer. My first attempt at shaving went terribly. I was not prepared for how spiky and sharp my hair would feel post-shave, the nicks and cuts, or the feeling that with one wrong move I would suffer from severe rug burn due to my vagina stubble. Also, I wasn't even going to attempt shaving the hair back there . Putting a razor in an area I could barely see without a mirror? No, thank you. Swearing off shaving for good left me with two choices: grow out a full bush or learn how to DIY a Brazilian wax. Thinking back to everything I knew about DIY waxing , one anecdote stuck in my mind. During one of my past waxing appointments, in an effort to make the waxing experience a little less awkward, I asked my aesthetician if she got waxed or waxed herself. "Don't ever try waxing yourself," she told me sternly. "One time a girl came in here after trying that, but the wax had dried on her hair because she was too scared to pull it off. She was lucky we were able to get it off. She was about 30 minutes away from having to go to the hospital." This story ran through my head every time I considered giving myself an at-home wax. I knew I was brave, but just how brave? Was I "rip my pubic hair off with hot wax" brave? I wasn't sure. With that thought in mind, I realized I needed backup. I considered my options. I could call my mother, but she couldn't do much more than cheer me on through FaceTime. Could I ask a friend who lived down the street? My cousin? The answer sat there on the couch next to me, watching "Homeland." My boyfriend. Yes, he would be the one to go into battle with me. We could do this together. "Would you be willing to give me a Brazilian wax?" I asked him. "Sure," he said noncommittally. My eyes lit up as the wheels in my brain started turning. A few days later when I brought up his everlasting love for me and his commitment to help me wax my nether regions, he was still game. I already owned the Bliss Poetic Waxing Hair Removal Kit ($13) that had great reviews online. One of my coworkers had even tried it herself and noted that it was one of the less painful kits she had tried, albeit messy. There were a few things I opted not to tell my boyfriend prior to beginning our waxing experience together. The first was that my aesthetician had given me the nickname "The Flincher" because every time she applied hot wax I would flinch. I figured my boyfriend would figure this out on his own. The second was that I was on my period. I had been waxed plenty of times while on my period, and I did what I normally did — showered and made sure I had a fresh tampon in. Again, I filed this under the "things my boyfriend would soon find out" category. Prior to beginning, I read the wax kit's instructions in their entirety, and decided my boyfriend should hear them as well. As I sat there explaining the laundry list of tips to him, I could see everything going in one ear and out the other as his eyes glazed over. Figuring our best bet was just to dive right in, I shut up and decided to get to it. The first thing we did was set up our space. I looked around for an area I could lay on that was about the height of a massage table, and my eyes landed on our kitchen counter. Not the most sanitary, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I laid two bath towels down and brought my full-length mirror into the kitchen, where I set it against the fridge. Just because I was willing to let a licensed aesthetician do her magic with my eyes closed, did not mean my boyfriend was going down there unsupervised with hot wax in hand. The waxing kit we used needed to be heated up in the microwave in 30 second intervals, which felt like a lifetime. Both of us were nervous, and by the time we hit our fifth minute, I was worried my boyfriend was going to lock himself in a bathroom and refuse to come out. Finally, after the sixth minute, the wax seemed hot enough to apply. I hopped up on the kitchen counter and butterflied my legs. At this point in time, my confidence was beginning to sway, and I could feel myself starting to sweat. Who did I think I was? The girl who hopped on the kitchen island 10 seconds ago and butterflied her legs without a care in the world was not the same girl staring at me in the mirror. I was not a professional, and neither was my boyfriend. Since I had a little more experience, I decided to attempt it on my own at first. I took deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. I mixed the wax and began spreading it over a patch of hair. My boyfriend came over and held my back so I could relax against his arms while I pulled the first strip. When it came time to do the actual pulling, I was a mess. My hands were sweating and my brain was melting at the thought of ripping this hair out. Seeing my hesitation, my boyfriend tried cheering me on: "Just rip it like a Band-Aid!" When that didn't work, he decided it was time to take the reins. He told me to lay back and get comfortable, and he got to work. As you can imagine, the first few strips were shocking, but eventually we got into a rhythm. We got through the rest of the waxing fairly painlessly (OK, as "painless" as a Brazilian wax done by someone who has never done it before can get), with my boyfriend stopping occasionally to ask questions. He quickly adopted the motto of "scoop and spread" when applying the wax, as well as "breathe in, breathe out" when pulling strips of wax. Toward the end, I was actually starting to feel like I was in a salon. A very inexpensive, not totally sanitary, and unlicensed salon. Overall, while I did find myself stressed out for much of the experience, I also found myself laughing 99 percent of the time. I am truly proud of the fact that my boyfriend was able to handle this task in stride with a very minimal amount of complaining. We've since broken up, (unrelated to the waxing, I swear) and although I was pulling wax off of my butt in the shower for two days afterward, I would probably do it again. Also, the kit was only $23, and my boyfriend's labor was free, so cheers to that! Renee Rodriguez (she/her) is a staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.

LOS ANGELES — On election night, a Southern California pastor in a red MAGA hat filmed a message for his Instagram followers, cheering President-elect Donald Trump’s victory. Rob McCoy thanked God — and Charlie Kirk, one of the Republican Party’s most influential power brokers. “This is the epicenter of a rebirth of freedom,” McCoy said from the Phoenix headquarters of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA. Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative firebrand, rallied his millions of online followers to support Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say, “It’s not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.” The Atlantic dubbed Kirk “the right’s new kingmaker.” And the man the kingmaker calls his pastor is McCoy of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park. McCoy gained notoriety during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when he defied public health orders and continued to hold mask-free indoor church services. He sees in Trump a man persecuted by the left, who, while “flawed like the rest of us,” was chosen by God to lead a sinful nation that, in his opinion, allows too many abortions and is too accepting of transgender rights. “God saved us,” McCoy told his congregants in his first sermon after Trump won. “He gave us mercy. We didn’t deserve this.” McCoy, a vaccine skeptic who has been senior pastor at Godspeak for 25 years, told The Times he considers Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist whom Trump has chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, “a good friend.” At his church he has hosted MAGA luminaries like Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, and Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor. And, of course, Kirk. Kirk, a millionaire known for his memes and college campus tours meant to “own the libs,” has credited McCoy for persuading him to meld his right-wing politics, nationalism and evangelical faith. Although Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012 as an avowedly secular youth organization, he now declares that God is on the side of American conservatives, and that pastors have a divine duty to preach against progressive policies. There is, he has said, “no separation of church and state.” In a speech to Trump supporters in Georgia last month, Kirk said that “the Democrat Party supports everything that God hates” and that “there is a spiritual battle happening around all of us.” Kirk’s online reach is vast: 1.5 million followers on Rumble, 2.7 million on YouTube, 4 million on X and 5 million on TikTok. His nonprofit, Turning Point Action, largely ran Trump’s ground game in swing states like Arizona and Wisconsin. After Trump’s victory, McCoy joked from the pulpit: “This week, Charlie’s going back to Washington to meet with the president because he’s going to call in his markers.” Kirk, in recent days, has posted to social media from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, where the president-elect has been naming MAGA loyalists to his Cabinet. After Trump tapped former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, Kirk posted a video to X from the passenger seat of a vehicle. Gaetz was behind the wheel and joked that his new job was “Charlie Kirk’s driver.” Asked if Kirk is advising the president-elect or being considered for a role in the administration, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, in a statement, said only that Trump’s appointments “will continue to be announced by him when they are made.” McCoy ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly in 2014. But as Kirk’s reach has grown, so, too, has McCoy’s. In early April 2020, the beginning of the pandemic, McCoy, a former mayor of Thousand Oaks, resigned from the city council, saying he planned to violate public health orders that banned in-person church services because they were deemed nonessential and dangerous. He dubbed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom as “Newssolini,” decried government “tyranny” and had his YouTube page shut down — “censored,” he says — when the platform cracked down on misleading and inaccurate content about the virus and vaccines. After a San Diego judge allowed strip clubs to reopen, McCoy followed the suggestion of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and pretended his church was an “essential” adult entertainment venue; in the sanctuary, he danced to striptease music, throwing his tie into the congregation, where worshipers held up dollar bills. Ventura County sued McCoy’s church for defying public health orders. The county eventually dropped its suit, but Godspeak sued back, alleging its 1st Amendment rights had been trampled. In 2022, a state appellate court sided with the county, but one effect of the pandemic, McCoy says, was his congregation quadrupling to about 1,500. Kirk, whose college speaking gigs were hampered by campus closures, was welcomed in churches like McCoy’s. In a 2021 interview, Kirk said that McCoy, in their first meeting, told him: “You’re a Christian, and I want to tell you that not only does the Bible say a lot about civil government, not only does the Bible say a lot about how we should interact with our leaders, but I think you should talk more publicly about that.” Three years ago, Kirk shared the power of his Turning Points brand with McCoy, who helped launch TPUSA Faith, which offers training and networking for pastors wanting to be more politically outspoken. Turning Point USA and TPUSA Faith did not return requests from The Times for comment. Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, said that “Rob McCoy was the person who turned Charlie Kirk to Christian nationalism, and very specifically the Seven Mountains Mandate,” the idea that Christians should try to influence the seven pillars of cultural influence: arts and entertainment, business, education, family, government, media and religion. Christian nationalism holds that the United States was founded as a Christian nation and that Christianity should have primacy in government and law. “Charlie Kirk has tremendous power both in the evangelical world and Trump world and nationally, and he has tremendous resources that he is putting into all seven areas of cultural influence,” said Boedy, who is writing a book about Kirk. “Trump has allowed him to do that, given him space to do it. But Rob McCoy is the person that convinced him to do it.” In an interview with The Times, McCoy insisted he is “not a dominionist” — one who believes the country should be governed by Christians. He said Trump appears to be “searching” and growing in his own faith, but that he has been successful in each of the seven pillars and that God appears to be working through him. “He’s a bull in a China shop,” McCoy said. “But he also keeps his promises. ... I’m not looking for a pastor in chief. I’m looking for a bodyguard for Western civilization.” McCoy, like pastors on both sides of the political aisle, openly flouts the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 law that bars tax-exempt organizations from participating in political campaigns and endorsing candidates. (Trump has said he wants to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, which would require an act of Congress.) McCoy said he is disgusted by Christians saying they “don’t do politics because politics is dirty, as though the rest of the world and they themselves are pure.” He also bristles at the term “Christian nationalist,” saying there’s nothing wrong with loving God and his country at the same time. Trump — who, polls show, won the support of 8 in 10 white evangelical voters in this election — is one of many Republican politicians who have courted evangelicals. But Trump, more than most others, has cast himself as a divinely chosen and wrongly persecuted protector of Christians, telling his supporters that he’s “standing between you and the secular left that is out to get you,” said Barry Hankins, a history professor at Baylor University who has written books about evangelicalism. As the United States has become more progressive and secular — at the same time congregations are shrinking and aging — Christians have lost much of their cultural power, leaving many to feel under assault, Hankins said. “Trump is brilliant at just picking up on this and marketing it and branding it for his own political purposes,” he said. The Republican Party platform, while vague on many topics, specifically says the GOP will champion prayer and reading the Bible in schools. McCoy, citing Trump’s ability to weather indictments, setbacks and assassination attempts, called his election a “miracle.” He likens Trump to Samson, a flawed biblical figure who was used by God for a greater purpose. “He’s got iconic hair and a propensity for women,” McCoy said of Samson. “Trump’s got iconic hair and a propensity for women.” As for restricting abortion, Trump — who has vacillated on the issue — is not exactly where the pastor would like him to be, but “has done more for the life movement than any other president in modern history, period,” McCoy said. Evangelical activists say they expect him to do more. In a letter to the Trump transition team, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention urged the Trump to take steps to curtail access to the abortion pill mifepristone. McCoy said that with Trump returning to the White House, he sees a golden era for his efforts and those of TPUSA Faith to “remove wokeness” — including diversity initiatives and critical race theory — from the American church. He said he plans to start a podcast in which he discusses politics. And in July, he will step down as senior pastor at Godspeak (though he will still have a speaking role), because of his growing role with TPUSA Faith. Days before the election, McCoy had preached that if Trump lost “life is going to take on catastrophic conditions” because of the evil espoused by the left. But after Trump’s victory, he changed his tune. “People who disagree with us are not the enemy,” he posted on Instagram. “They are the opportunity.”NoneWheel of Fortune contestants whiffing their bonus puzzles is nothing new, but on December 4’s episode, a player came up short on a $40,000 puzzle that left fans joking that she may never want to visit a Disney theme park again. The game show’s latest big miss involved Vandana Patel, an Indian fusion food expert from Chicago. She won the episode and proceeded to the coveted bonus round with $20,600, a trip to Florida, and the selection of “What Are You Wearing?” as her category. Joined by host Ryan Seacrest and the off-side support of her waving mom, daughter, and husband, she faced the two-word puzzle. Choosing a “DMH” and “A,” Vanna White added a mere “H” to the first word. “We want more!” Seacrest chanted. With that tough break, the 10-second timer began. The puzzle read as, “‘_ H _ T E’ ‘_ L _ _ E S.'” A stern Patel did her very best to concentrate on cracking it, successfully saying “White” was the first word. But she couldn’t figure out the second word, and the timer ran out. The full puzzle was unveiled, “WHITE GLOVES.” Seacrest revealed the gold envelope contained the $40,000 amount and put a consoling arm around Patel’s shoulder. “This was on your bucket list!” he told her. “It was,” she replied. The game show shared the big miss on Youtube, where fans reacted to the loss with the top comment being about how the contestant will likely never want to see Mickey Mouse, or Mario of the Nintendo games, again given their white gloves. “Now she never wants to see mickey or mario again,” the fan wrote scoring 20 likes. “Or the keeper of the Stanley Cup,” replied another. A third fan wrote, “I knew it said WHITE GLOVES and I even solved it before the timer was displayed.” A fourth penned, “Don’t worry, Vandana, I was stumped too. I got the first word, but not the second. That’s alright, you’re a winner regardless. $20K is nothing to sneeze at. Great job! A fifth said, “I knew gloves from the initial and her h got me white. Tough puzzle “Wow. At least it wasn’t the hundred thousand dollar wedge,” wrote one more. Meanwhile , Seacrest, of course, had huge shoes to fill replacing the legendary Pat Sajak after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a round of sausage) . That said, there have been some questionable hosting moments. In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper” , involving a prolonged reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for ruling against another player before the timer was up. Most controversially, last month, fans called out the host for not reminding a player to pick a letter , leading to him losing the game in a misunderstanding and by a mere $147. This past two weeks, a more puzzling issue has come to light, which is that there has been a mere one bonus puzzle win out of the last eight episodes , many fans blaming the players and not the host. More Headlines:

Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of AppLovin ( NASDAQ:APP – Free Report ) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 target price (up previously from $170.00) on shares of AppLovin in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Daiwa America raised AppLovin from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AppLovin from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised AppLovin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AppLovin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.96. Read Our Latest Analysis on APP AppLovin Trading Up 4.7 % AppLovin ( NASDAQ:APP – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. AppLovin had a return on equity of 122.24% and a net margin of 26.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that AppLovin will post 4.06 EPS for the current year. Insider Transactions at AppLovin In related news, Director Craig Scott Billings sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.94, for a total transaction of $5,740,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,673.78. The trade was a 85.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink . Also, CTO Vasily Shikin sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.04, for a total value of $473,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 4,536,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $390,315,899.88. This represents a 0.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last quarter, insiders sold 854,065 shares of company stock worth $233,072,408. 14.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On AppLovin Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DT Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AppLovin in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of AppLovin by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.85% of the company’s stock. AppLovin Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) AppLovin Corporation engages in building a software-based platform for advertisers to enhance the marketing and monetization of their content in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Software Platform and Apps. The company's software solutions include AppDiscovery, a marketing software solution, which matches advertiser demand with publisher supply through auctions; MAX, an in-app bidding software that optimizes the value of a publisher's advertising inventory by running a real-time competitive auction; Adjust, a measurement and analytics marketing platform that provides marketers with the visibility, insights, and tools needed to grow their apps from early stage to maturity; and Wurl, a connected TV platform, which distributes streaming video for content companies and provides advertising and publishing solutions through its AdPool, ContentDiscovery, and Global FAST Pass products. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for AppLovin Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AppLovin and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .House rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz’s ethics report

Attention Must Be Paid to HwaBoonChandigarh MC to set up new horticulture waste processing plant, STP

A Supreme Court-appointed committee headed by justice (retired) Nawab Singh has made broad-brush observations about India’s agrarian crisis and urged serious consideration of legal sanctity to minimum support prices (MSP) for farmers. While the committee’s word is unlikely to be binding, it will play a role in shaping the apex court’s mind which has been hearing a matter on the resolution of farmers’ protests. That India’s agrarian economy has been mired in a viability crisis — farmer suicides are its most macabre manifestation — isn’t unknown. That this crisis can only be solved by generating more jobs outside farming is also widely known but far more difficult to achieve. However, in keeping with the twists and turns of the Indian political economy, even labour-abundant farms are doing all they can to save on labour costs today. Things such as using stubble burning to clear fields for the next crop — the practice is only proliferating — are a direct fallout of such measures. Can something like an MSP fix these problems? There are many who berate India’s MSP and the associated food security programme. Without this, we would have had no food security for hundreds of millions of people. But MSP alone can’t solve second-order problems of Indian agriculture after having secured our food security from the demand and supply side. In states such as Punjab, MSP has given a nudge in the wrong direction — unleashing water scarcity and soil degradation locally and toxic air outside. Fixing the viability and sustainability crisis in India’s farms requires a more broad-based political dialogue among all stakeholders to evolve the appetite for transforming farming and carve out the fiscal space to support such efforts. There are no silver bullets here. Courts would do well to understand this.

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