As most economists predicted, the Bank of Canada has held its key interest rate steady at 5%. Statistics Canada announced last week that the Canadian economy shrank 0.2% at an annualized rate in the second quarter – very far from the 1.5% growth the Bank of Canada had predicted in its last forecast. The Perspectives podcast returns for another season with a familiar guest, Scotiabank Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault. He takes host Armina Ligaya through Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem’s decision, what it means for the economy and inflation, and whether this signals the end, finally, for hikes that have taken interest rates to a 22-year high. Key moments this episode: 00:48 — What is JF’s main take away from the announcement? Why it’s good news/bad news 1:51 — Was it the right move to pause? 2:45 — How long will this rate hike pause last? Will the next move be a cut? 3:29 — When is the earliest we can realistically see an interest rate cut? 3:43 — Was the slowdown or surprise contraction in the Canadian economy a blip? Or proof interest rate hikes have been working? 4:50 — What does all this mean when it comes to a potential recession? 6:20 — Where are we at in terms of inflation and where do we go from here? 7:39 — What effect have interest rate hikes really had on inflation? Was the pain worth it? 8:54 — What’s the final takeaway for borrowers from this announcement? 

The First Home Savings Account, or FHSA, is a new type of registered plan available to Canadians. This episode we’re explaining the ins and outs of the FHSA and how you might be able to take advantage. Kingsley Chak, the Senior Vice President of Deposits, Savings and Investments at Scotiabank, is our guest. He’ll also give us a refresher on all those other savings account acronyms you’ve heard of but might not be 100% clear on. So, you’ll come away knowing the ABCs of TFSAs, RRSPs, RESPs and more.    Key moments this episode:  1:00 — What exactly is the First Home Savings account? 1:28 — Why was an account like this created? 1:47 — How much can you contribute to an FHSA? How does it work? 3:20 — Who should consider opening an FHSA? 4:23 — Who can open a FHSA?  4:50 — Could parents or grandparents open an account for a child or grandchild? 5:22 — Some tips on the best way to use the FHSA 5:51— A tip on how the FHSA can work with an RRSP 6:02 — Can a couple or several people pool their own separate FHSAs? 6:50 — When will the FHSA be available? 7:08 — How is the FHSA different from the Home Buyers Plan? 8:04 — A breakdown of investment vehicle acronyms – starting with RRSP 9:25 — What is an RRIF? 9:58 — What is a TFSA? 11:44 — What is an RESP? 13:04 — What is an RDSP? 13:26 — What is an MPSA? 

On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada increased its benchmark rate a quarter percentage point, to 4.75%. That’s the highest it’s been since 2001. A combination of stubborn inflation and an economy that just keeps humming along explains why the Bank decided it needed to hike again after a pause of several months. Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault is back this week to walk us through the decision, the reasoning behind it, why it was the right thing to do, and to explain what it means for households – especially those with variable-rate mortgages - and the economy in the coming weeks and months. Key moments this episode: 0:54 — JF’s reaction to the decision 1:25 — Some insight into what factors drove the Bank of Canada’s decision 3:38 — Breaking down the latest inflation numbers that contributed to the hike 4:54 — What is driving Canada’s unexpectedly robust economic growth? 7:16 — JF explains why even though this seems like the right decision economically, it will still bring some pain to Canadians 9:41 — What is the likelihood of another interest rate hike in July? 10:02 — When will we see some rate relief given this latest decision? 10:57 — Does all of this make a recession this year more or less likely? 

Summer is right around the corner and Canadians are not only thinking about how they’re going enjoy the warm weather, but also how much it’s going to cost them. Scotiabank’s Consumer Products Analyst George Doumet returns to the show to talk to Perspectives’ Armina Ligaya about where prices may still be up, where they’re going down and a look at the bigger picture when it comes to retail heading into vacation season.  Key moments this episode: 0:57 — What is top of mind for consumer and retailers as we head into the summer? 2:13 — How is inflation and interest rates impacting consumers? 2:51 — What is the ‘eighth inning of experience’?  3:12 — The price of goods: what's up and what's down 5:46 — How did retailers go from supply woes to high inventory woes? 6:57 — How does what’s happening in the workplace affecting retail spending? 8:22 — What’s behind the recent store and chain closures we’ve been seeing? 9:45 — What is ‘bifurcation’ and why is it a key theme this summer in retail? 10:16 — Can anything we’re seeing now apply to the crucial holiday shopping season? 11:00 — The most important question – what is George's favourite ice cream flavour?

So many aspects of our lives happen online these days, from shopping to work to banking, and digital privacy is more important than ever. Our guest this week is Aggie Zander, Vice President of Governance, Enterprise Programs and Global Privacy Officer at Scotiabank. She’ll break down some of the laws governing customer privacy here in Canada, what we should keep an eye out for when asked to accept one of those terms of service agreements and what the Bank is doing to protect their customers’ data.  Key moments this episode: 1:22 — Why is privacy such an important issue in 2023? 2:40 — What should we look out for in those terms of service agreements? 4:34 — Are there certain red flags people should look for when they’re asked for information? 5:37 — How Scotiabank makes sure customers’ data is safe 7:20 — What is the key thing people should take away when it comes to online privacy?

The word recession is hard to avoid these days. Despite the term being on the tips of everyone’s tongues, there still seems to be confusion about what it means. Is there going to be one? How bad will it be? How do you even define the term? Apparently even that old, go-to definition that a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth might not be entirely correct.So in this episode we're re-airing from November, we go back to basics for a primer on this seemingly nebulous economic term with the help of our guest, Scotiabank's Chief Economist, Jean-François Perrault.Key moments in this episode:1:08 — The definition of a recession and why it’s not necessarily what you might think2:10 — Why a “quick and dirty” definition of a recession can be helpful2:35 — Who declares whether there’s a recession in Canada?3:23 — Why it’s only AFTER a recession that we can tell there’s been a recession3:44 — What is a technical recession?3:50 — A brief recession history lesson4:31 — What historically often triggers recessions5:15 — How long did past recessions last?6:11 — What a recession in 2023 might look like if we have one9:21 — What should people be worried about if there is a recession?11:11 — How psychology and public perception plays into recessions12:58 — When recessions usually occur in the economic cycle13:50 — What can governments do to help with a recession? What should they avoid doing?15:37 — If we have a recession, will we have a “soft landing”?

Scotiabank economist Laura Gu is back to break down even more common and not-so-common economic terms you might be hearing in the news. We’re talking curves, yields, spreads, even Goldilocks. All in an effort to help you better understand the world of finance. Or just impress your friends. Looking for another vocabulary-expanding economic primer? Check out 11 economic terms to better understand the news. Key moments this episode:  1:07 — Term 1: Labour market 2:48 — Term 2: Phillips curve 3:58 — Term 3: Yield curve 6:41 — Term 4: Credit spreads 7:22 — Term 5: Secular stagnation 9:40 — Lightning round and term 6: Goldilocks economy 9:56 — Term 7: The overnight rate 10:24 — Terms 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12: Recession shapes — V-shaped, U-shaped, W-shaped, L-shaped and K-shaped 11:18 — Term 13: No landing 11:52 — Term 14: Immaculate disinflation 

For many people, a credit score is a mysterious thing. But that number can have a huge impact on our lives. Our guest in this episode is Laura Scheck, Vice President of Credit Cards at Scotiabank. She talks to Natalie Nanowski from our Perspectives Newsroom team to help bust some common myths around the credit score as well as explain the basics. What number is good, what’s bad, what will actually decrease your score and, of course, tips on how to improve it.  Key moments this episode: 1:24 — The “origin story” of the credit score 2:06 — What is a good credit score? 2:27 — Can you get a perfect credit score? 3:02 — How is a credit score calculated? 3:32 — Five main factors that impact credit scores 4:30 — The most common way to negatively impact your credit score 5:50 — Another common way people unknowingly decrease their score 7:04 — Can checking your own credit score negatively impact it? 8:33 — Is using your full credit card limit a bad thing for your credit score?  9:34 — Will taking a higher credit limit on your credit card affect your credit score? 10:31 — What are some ways to improve your credit score and how quickly can it be done? 11:36 — The best way for newcomers or students to build their credit 12:52 — Have attitudes changed from generation to generation when it comes to credit? 13:40 — The biggest shift in the current credit landscape that Laura has noticed 14:52 — The biggest takeaways when it comes to credit scores 

We dissect the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold its key interest rate steady at 4.5%. Inflation is gradually coming down, the economy is still growing modestly, the labour market is strong. But Governor Tiff Macklem made clear that the job of bringing inflation down to the target rate isn’t done yet, and warned he’s willing to raise interest rates again if necessary to get there. Scotiabank Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault returns to the podcast to explain the Bank’s announcement, assess the current economic situation, and look ahead to what we can expect on the recession and interest rate fronts. (Spoiler alert: He says rates will eventually come down, but probably not this year.)   Key moments this episode: 1:03 — The big takeaway from the announcement today 1:26 — What is the Bank of Canada trying to signal? 2:59 — What can we expect in the months ahead? 4:38 — Is Macklem signalling that there won’t be rate cuts anytime soon? 5:22 — What about a potential recession? 7:03 — If there is a recession, will it be a soft landing? 7:54 — Where do we go from here in terms of inflation? 

The currency market is the largest financial market in the world. It turns over trillions and trillions of dollars every day. But what exactly is it? This episode is all about making sense of the currency market, also known as the foreign exchange market or FX for short. Our guest, Shaun Osbourne, Managing Director and Chief Currency Strategist at Scotiabank explains what makes these markets go up and down, what role the exchange rate has when it comes to inflation, where the Canadian dollar might be headed and much more.   Key moments this episode: 1:33 — Why do currencies go up and down? 2:28 — Why the currency market is the “purest form of the market” 3:19 — How do investors or institutions use the currency market? 6:23 — A quick history lesson about the gold standard 7:39 — Why is the U.S. dollar the currency in which others are judged?  10:13 — Why wouldn’t countries like Canada just use the U.S. dollar as its currency? 11:59 — Decoding the currency ticker 12:40 — Breaking down why the Canadian dollar dropped in the past year 14:27 — Who benefits when the Canadian dollar is low? Who likes it when it’s high? 16:19 — Ballparking a ‘Goldilocks’ rate for the Canadian dollar 16:36 — Where might the Canadian dollar go in the next six months?