Bonjour! I’m Amarah, and I’m The Margin’s new staff writer. Sorry I’m late to the party. I’ve been having a “Euro summer” – which is the official name for when you’re in Europe… and it’s summer.

While abroad, I accidentally discovered the Next Big Thing: horchata. Seriously, it’s taking over the world – or, at least, the world of nine-dollar beverages. I saw this sweet, milky drink on menus across London (England, not Ontario), and I even visited a dedicated horchata cafe. Banana bread horchata, guava horchata, horchata cold brew – they had it all! Just take my money, please. I won’t even google the exchange rate.

– Amarah Hasham-Steele, Staff Writer

The takeaway: It’d be insensitive to describe this week as “womp, womp,” right? We’re looking at three main culprits: oil, Walmart, and bond yields (more on that last one below). Oil prices increased (again, some more) as Iran-US tensions escalated (again, some more) and Trump abandoned ceasefire talks. Then Walmart lost roughly US$89 billion of market value on Thursday following weak sales for the mega-retailer. Meanwhile, the TSX fared a little bit better, but not by much, considering the in-progress-but-as-yet-unresolved tariff talks with the US.

It’s getting expensive to be a government. The big news this week involved what are normally very boring investments: government bonds, the little IOUs written by treasuries to investors when governments need to borrow some cash. Yields on these (interest rates, essentially) have been climbing to record levels in recent weeks, as investors the world over have been getting nervous about inflation, war, and the overall future of the world. It hasn’t helped that tech giants are now also issuing their own bonds to fund their massive AI expenditures, creating competition in the debt markets. 

Bond yields for the US, France, and Germany all hit levels not seen in over a decade, while Japan came close to setting a domestic record. Here in Canada, yields for 10-year-plus bonds hit 4.07%, their highest since 2011. 

Bond prices and yields are inversely related: the more expensive they get, the lower their rates tend to be. Governments seeking lower interest rates can game this by buying up bonds from the market, which raises their price and, in turn, lowers their yield. That’s exactly what the US Treasury did on Wednesday, when it doubled the amount of bonds it was willing to buy back this fall to US$4 billion. 

Interest on its US$40 trillion debt is the US federal government’s second-largest budget item, making bond yields a very big deal. Those buybacks, however, also inject more cash into the economy, which in turn drives inflation, which is part of what caused this in the first place. Uh oh.

What this means…

The bottom line: Bond yields can act as a referendum on investor confidence in the future – evidently, the vibes are not good. The ongoing war in Ukraine is driving up defence spending in Europe, contributing to higher yields, and Trump appears to have no exit plan for his very expensive war with Iran. The stock market may be roaring, but the doomers are starting to be heard, too.

by Jenna Simeonov

This is an excerpt of an article originally run in full on The Margin.

In the past two years alone, Linda Andross has spent more than $3,000 on theatre tickets. She skips reading the reviews on purpose, doing her best to avoid spoilers. The 58-year-old from Toronto sees everything – musicals, comedies, heavier dramas. Before the curtain raises, she settles into her seat, making a habit of chatting with the strangers seated around her, asking them what other shows they’ve seen and loved. Following those recommendations eats into her budget, and she’s had to cut back on other splurges, like new clothes. But for Andross, it’s all worth it. Every curtain call is money well spent, no matter how much money that may be.

Related: "Revenge spending is real, and it's spectacular"

Such willingness to splurge may seem out of place in 2026, when everything is far more expensive than it should be and it feels like everybody's broke. Since 2019, Canadians have felt a tangible rise in the cost of living: rents and groceries prices have spiked 30% (among plenty of other things); and new-hire wages are still lagging 2.5% behind where they sat five years ago, yet everything costs about 20% more than before the pandemic. That sounds like the kind of environment that would make people reconsider a night out, but demand for entertainment has proved surprisingly inelastic. Spending on live entertainment in Canada hit $13.8 billion in 2024, up 9.3% YoY and the fourth straight year of growth. Canadians aren't having more fun than they did before 2020 – rather, even as going out gets more and more expensive, they're refusing to compromise on fun. Canadians may be broke, but they’re dead set on having the time of their lives.

Read more

Amarah Hasham-Steele, Staff Writer: Back in April, Caro Claire Burke released her debut novel Yesteryear, arguably the biggest book of 2026. The novel's success might be attributable to its timeliness: it’s about a trad-wife influencer (if you don’t know what those words mean, I envy you). But Anne Hathaway’s upcoming film adaptation has definitely added to the hype – and spurred unfounded ghostwriting allegations. 

Another big seller of 2026 was Lena Dunham’s Famesick. Dunham is an exceptional writer (the voice of her generation – or at least a voice of a generation), but her willingness to reheat decade-old celebrity drama probably helped stir up buzz around the memoir.

And now, there’s Rachel Cusk’s Life of M, another new release bolstered by the promise of good gossip. The novel, out on Tuesday, follows an actress who bears an uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman. Portman’s team hasn’t publicly commented, but Page Six reports that the actress finds the book “annoying.” We'll see if that tidbit translates to book sales as well, but the odds seem pretty good.

People have been bemoaning celebrity-driven book sales for years, and some may believe they're indicative of a reading culture in decline. But I’m comforted by the fact that, regardless of their celebrity connections, Yesteryear and Famesick are interesting reads in their own right, and I'm optimistic about Life of M. So, when the novel drops on Tuesday, I’ll have two reasons to pick up a copy: my respect for Cusk’s work, and, admittedly, my taste for a bit of gossip.

From The Margin group chat:

If you liked this newsletter, hated this newsletter, or are totally indifferent to it, hit the reply button and tell us why! We’re so lonely.

This week’s contributors: Jenna Simeonov (writer), Tyler Haw (audience engagement), Amarah Hasham-Steele (staff writer), Shazia Khan (social media strategy manager), Anthony Milton (content lead), Martin Molpeceres (social video producer), Kat Angus (deputy editor), and Eric Wainwright (editor in chief).

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