Mac-flation

Good afternoon, everyone.

In today’s newsletter:

— Leah Golob

Apple jacked up prices on iPads and MacBooks, saying AI is to blame. The proliferation of AI data centres has fuelled demand for memory and storage chips, with analysts estimating chip costs have quadrupled over the past year. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly,” an Apple spokesperson told Global News. The MacBook Neo, which launched in Canada in March 2026, had a starting price of $799, Global reports. It’s now listed at $949 on the Canadian Apple Store. iPhones are safe … for the moment. 

Nearly half (46 per cent) of Ontario condos are now valued at under $500,000. In 2022, amid a much hotter housing market, fewer than one in four condos fell below that threshold, according to data from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). Still, potential buyers aren’t exactly rushing off the sidelines. MPAC says units can fall short of buyer preference when it comes to size, bedrooms and location. 

Some Canadian airlines are reducing fuel surcharges in response to falling oil prices. WestJet cut its surcharge on companion vouchers from $60 to $40 and Porter Airlines halved its $40 surcharge for new reward flight bookings. Air Canada and Flair Airlines, meanwhile, are holding the line. Air Canada is keeping its levy on ground packages for Air Canada Vacations, while Flair says it's monitoring the situation. On Thursday, Brent crude oil fell back to pre-Iran war levels at roughly US$72 a barrel.

For some, remote work isn’t just isolating, it’s shrinking opportunities for entry-level jobs. Research from the London School of Economics found entry-level hiring across multiple countries has declined 14 per cent since 2019. Companies that remained remote after the pandemic were more likely to cut back on junior hiring. The researchers say remote work makes it harder for employees to learn on the job, so employers are more likely to invest in experienced workers. It's not just young people who lose out — it also "hollows out the pipeline of future experienced workers," the WSJ reports. 

BlackBerry’s shares soared nearly 20 per cent on Thursday, signalling investors believe the Canadian tech company is making a comeback. Its stock jumped after BlackBerry reported positive operating cash flow for the first quarter in nine years, while revenue from its QNX software business increased 26 per cent year over year. The former smartphone maker has been steadily focusing on its software used in cars to medical devices and even nuclear power plants. “If you drive, it probably had a hand in getting you from point A to point B,” The Walrus reports. “Like its once-ubiquitous phone, BlackBerry is still everywhere — we just don’t see it.” 

We asked Becca Mintz, Managing Vice President & Head of Credit and Data at Capital One Canada, about how credit scores are actually calculated, misconceptions about how to build good credit, and the most important things Canadians can do to improve their credit score.

What’s the biggest misconception about how a credit score is calculated?

One of the biggest misconceptions we see is that your income directly impacts your score. We conducted a national survey and found that 30% of Canadians mistakenly believe a higher income automatically means a better credit score, when in reality, your score reflects how you manage credit rather than how much you earn.

Given this and other misconceptions that we hear, we weren’t surprised to learn that nearly half of Canadians are unsure how their credit score is calculated at all, which is why having open, judgment-free conversations about money matters so much. Another way to learn more is to double click on your own credit score and profile. We offer Capital One’s Credit Keeper for this exact reason. It’s a free, secure tool available to all Canadians, not just our customers, that lets you track your score as often as you want without impacting it. You can also check out what trades you have reported on your file and what may be contributing to it moving over time.

What actually moves a credit score the most, versus the things people obsess over that barely matter?

The real factors that drive results are the fundamentals like paying your bills on time, using credit within your means, not applying for more credit than you need, and keeping an eye out for unusual activity. People often obsess over the wrong things, for example, over 30% of Canadians incorrectly believe that carrying a credit card balance from month to month is necessary to build credit. To clear that up, you do not need to carry debt or pay interest to build a strong score.

If you already have a good credit score that is north of 800, obsessing over a few points moving up or down will not meaningfully change your financial opportunities.

If a reader wanted to meaningfully improve their credit score over the next 12 months, what’s the single highest-leverage move? And the flip side: what’s the most avoidable credit mistake you see Canadians make?

If you commit to just one financial habit over the next 12 months, make it this: paying your bills on time, every single time, because consistent payment history is the single highest-leverage move to elevate your score. If you can’t pay in full, make at least the minimum payment to stay current on your accounts.

On the flip side, the most avoidable mistake is waiting until you need credit to start paying attention to it. A credit score can affect major life milestones, like applying for a loan, a credit card, or even renting or buying a home. And yet, our research shows that one in five Canadians aged 55 and older say they have never checked their credit report. Ultimately, improving your credit is not about achieving instant perfection, but about empowering yourself with the information to make consistent choices that protect and support your financial well-being over time.

Read the full Smart Money Q&A on our website.