Like a favourite sitcom, a good news publication appears once a week, has a laugh track, and usually ends with a heart-warming moral about international trade. Bone up on the economy's hilarious antics with today's Groupon: for $79 CAN, you get 51 issues of the Economist, along with a plethora of subscriber benefits (a $132 CAN value).

The Economist's globe-spanning scope, comprehensive analysis, and crushing, unflinching grasp on world economics make it required reading for people, people persons, and people-shaped cacti looking to stay up-to-date on world news, politics, and business. In addition to the weekly publications—including the magazine's more than 20 special reports and its technology quarterly—subscribers to the Economist also receive special benefits, such as The World in 2012, a special annual volume that predicts trends for the coming year. Subscribers also get unrestricted access to the online site, with a fully searchable archive dating back to the Neolithic Internet era (1997), as well as free access to the Economist in audio, which includes the option to listen to digital recordings of all print articles or to download them as a weekly podcast. For updates on the go or “on the sitting down on a park bench enjoying the scenery,” access the Economist on an iPhone or iPad; every photo, article, chart, and Big Mac index is delivered to subscribers' devices by Thursday at 4 p.m. eastern time.