Money

Tired of always depending on a bottle of wine as a gift during the holiday season? Opt for something unique! Blogger Caitlin Moran of Style Within Reach rounded up some fun, chic finds for under $40:

Canadian consumers are heading into the biggest shopping season of the year carrying a record $1.51 trillion in debt, according to credit scoring agency Equifax Canada. However, the agency said it sees no cause for alarm as consumers are still doing a good job of carrying their debt load.

Bell Canada (BCE) has entered into an agreemnt to acquire GLENTEL, the Canadian-based multi-carrier mobile products distributor for approximately $670 million. The transaction enhances Bell’s strategy to accelerate wireless and improve customer service in a competitive wireless marketplace, while providing additional value to GLENTEL shareholders.

Swiss Voters Reject Gold Referendum, voters appear to have rejected a referendum proposal that would have forced the country’s central bank to hold 20 per cent of its assets in gold, according to early vote projections. Proposals for drastic curbs on immigration and for ending property tax breaks for wealthy foreigners also seem to have failed.

Cyber Monday Deals 2014, There were squabbles here and there, and elbows got thrown, but the Friday morning crowds appeared smaller than usual and less frenzied, in part because many Americans took advantage of stores’ earlier opening hours to do their shopping on Thanksgiving Day.

Allergan, the maker of Botox, has agreed to sell itself in a $66bn deal with fellow drugs group Actavis , with rival Valeant bowing out of its six-month long bitter pursuit. Actavis on Monday said it will pay $219 for each Allergan share, valuing the Botox maker at $66bn.

Walmart Black Friday 2014 Ad Revealed, Black Friday is always a big shopping day and, this year, Walmart’s sales actually kick off Thursday morning, on Thanksgiving, where you’ll be able to expect savings online. Then, later in the day, starting at 6:00 p.m. local time on Thursday evening, you’ll be able to take advantage of similar savings in Walmart retail …

TORONTO You’ve heard of paying retailers with the tap of a smartphone, but Royal Bank thinks shoppers are ready to take another big step: wearing payment options on their wrist. The bank has paired with Toronto-based technology developer Bionym to test a wristband called Nymi (pronounced Nim-ee), which identifies owners through their unique heartbeat and then lets them charge purchases …

Canada’s jobs market has awoken from its slumber, but it may take some time for wages to catch up. Employers added 43,100 jobs in October, marking the first back-to-back months with job growth in nearly a year and driving the unemployment rate to 6.5 per cent – the lowest since November, 2008, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Bank of Nova Scotia says it will cut 1,500 jobs — two-thirds of them in Canada — and also write down its investment in Venezuela, while setting aside more funds for loan losses in the Caribbean.

The Toronto stock market closed lower Monday as tepid manufacturing data and a higher U.S. dollar pushed oil to its lowest close in almost 2 ½ years. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 75.7 points to 14,537.62.