After a wild ride in 2022, what’s in store for markets in 2023? Hugo Ste-Marie is the Director of Portfolio and Quantitative Strategy in Equity Research at Scotiabank. In other words, his job is to give investment advice to large, institutional investors and he’ll tell us what trends, potential pitfalls and opportunities he sees for the new year.  Key moments this episode: 00:59 — Recap of what 2022 looked like from an investor perspective 2:24 — A big picture look at 2023, what should investors expect? 3:33 — What are the main forces driving the market in 2023?  5:00 — When might the US Federal Reserve stop hiking interest rates? 6:34 — What about the Bank of Canada? 7:27 — What advice Hugo gives to his clients heading into 2023 8:23 — What options are best for institutional investors given how 2023 may shape up 12:47 — What about global stocks?

Personal finance expert Bruce Sellery wants Canadians to talk more about money in 2023. So, we’re kicking off the new year by doing just that. And lucky for us, that is a topic that is never dull when Bruce is doing the talking. He’s our guest this episode and has three tips for people as they look to manage their personal finances heading into 2023. A year where inflation and talk of recession are making managing household spending something that’s on everyone's resolution list. For more financial advice visit Scotiabank’s Advice+ Centre. Key moments this episode: 2:19 — Bruce’s “dorky but admirable” new year’s tradition 2:52 — Why Bruce has seen an uptick in people who need credit counselling in 2022 4:36 — The two reasons that made 2022 particularly challenging when it comes to personal finance 6:51 — Bruce’s tip #1 9:44 — How do you figure out what things you can cut out of your budget? It comes down to values 12:29 — Bruce’s tip #2 15:20 — Bruce’s tip #3 18:43 — The most important thing about this conversation: why? 20:40 — Stop the music! Bruce has one more thing! 

Artificial intelligence or AI is the science of programming computers that can reason or think like humans. But in order to really understand AI, first we need to think about cats. At least according to Scotiabank’s resident AI expert, Yannick Lallement. He’s here this episode to outline what exactly AI is and how it can change how we think about work and do our jobs.Key moments this episode: 00:16 — How cats are key to understanding AI 2:39 — A quick definition of AI 3:05 — Two examples of where you may already be using AI in everyday life without knowing it 4:48 — What is ‘augmented intelligence’ and how could it help us do our jobs more easily? 6:00 — How do banks use AI? 8:59 — What is ‘ethical AI’? 10:59 — Three ways AI could change how we approach work 

Are interest rate hikes finally coming to an end? The Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate hike of half a percentage point wasn’t unexpected, but what it said about potential future increases was surprising.   Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault is back to discuss how the central bank is signalling a pause on future hikes, when he expects interest rates to start going down, and his latest research on what factors in Canada have further contributed to the global factors driving inflation.  Read Scotiabank Economics’ research report on Canadian factors impacting inflation here.  Key moments this episode: 00:55 — How the Bank of Canada explains the latest hike 1:46 — Why the language they used (or didn’t use) indicates rates may stop rising 2:22 — Why the tone of this recent announcement seems more optimistic 3:08 — Why sometimes “good news” can actually be a pessimistic outcome for growth 3:50 — How does a potential recession fit into all this? 5:28 — Will interest rates start to come down in 2023? 6:18 — What is driving inflation in Canada and why COVID support programs may have played a role 

Canada’s labour market is facing massive shortages. Employers right now just can’t fill jobs. Meanwhile, people with disabilities face much higher rates of poverty and unemployment than non-disabled people. With International Day of Persons with Disabilities upon us, our guest this episode is Rebekah Young, Vice President and Head of Inclusion and Resilience Economics at Scotiabank. She’ll explain how a more inclusive labour market can not only help Canadians with disabilities, but also help solve a persistent economic problem. Read Rebekah’s report here. Key moments this episode:  1:27 — Some big picture numbers around disability in Canada 2:13 — How do those numbers tie into the challenges that labour market is facing? 3:38 — The “mind-blowing” number of Canadians with disabilities who have the potential to work but aren’t getting the chance 4:02 — What’s holding back that large amount of people from being employed?  5:50 — What governments could do to help solve this issue 7:54 — What role private- sector employers could play and why 9:25 — How companies and governments can come together to make the labour market more inclusive 11:28 — A call to action 

With Black Friday upon us, the holiday shopping season is unofficially underway. Scotiabank Consumer Analyst George Doumet is our guest and breaks down where prices are going up and by how much, what trends he’s seeing and, believe it or not, where you might even be able to catch a deal this year.Key moments this episode: 1:06 — Why does it seem like Black Friday deals start earlier and earlier each year? 1:29 — How important is Black Friday to retailers in Canada? 2:04 — The good news when it comes to retail this holiday season… 2:29 — …and the bad news. With a silver lining. 3:41 — How inflation will affect Black Friday prices 4:12 — What is ‘trade down’ and why is it a trend this season? 4:48 — Where will customers see some deals this season? 6:21 — Which areas won’t see much of a discount? 7:02 — The “big new threat” to retailers this season 7:37 — Why grandma’s apple pie is going to cost a lot more this year 8:33 — How grocery consumers’ habits are changing because of inflation 9:04 — What are customers to make of grocery store profits? 10:46 — Beyond the holiday season, what is the health of Canadian consumers?View Reg AC Certification and Disclosures 

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 the basics. 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 go back to basics for a primer on this seemingly nebulous economic term with the help of our guest, Scotiabank 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 think 2:10 — Why a “quick and dirty” definition of a recession can be helpful 2:35 — 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 recession 3:44 — What is a technical recession? 3:50 — A brief recession history lesson 4:31 — What historically often triggers recessions 5:15 — How long did past recessions last? 6:11 — What a recession in 2023 might look like if we have one 9:21 — What should people be worried about if there is a recession? 11:11 — How psychology and public perception plays into recessions 12:58 — When recessions usually occur in the economic cycle 13:50 — 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”? 

Aside from the weather, gas prices might just be the most popular point of conversation for Canadians. Everyone seems to be an armchair expert on the subject.  In this episode, we explore what’s behind those ever-changing numbers at the pump with the help of Jennifer Stevenson from the Scotia Global Asset Management Investment Team. Key moments in this episode: 1:01 — The biggest factor when it comes to the cost at the pumps 1:53 — Why refineries are another large factor in gas prices 3:26 — Why there are so many unknowns in the process, from refinery to retail, that impact prices 5:01 — Gas stations often make more money from chocolate bars than gasoline 5:56 — Why there are fewer and fewer refineries  7:23 — How the war in Ukraine is affecting gas prices and why that may soon change 9:00 — A breakdown of why OPEC has reduced their supply recently 11:15 — Explaining Biden’s use of oil reserves 13:34 — Why a recession may be the only thing that slows energy prices

Canadians love getting free stuff. A big way to do that: collecting loyalty points. Over 90% of us belong to at least one program. And on average Canadians are enrolled in more than 12. In this episode Clinton Braganza, who oversees the rollout of the new Scene+ program at Scotiabank, provides us with an insider's look at loyalty programs in Canada, how they’ve evolved and where they’re headed.Key moments this episode: 1:24 — A brief intro to the customer loyalty space in Canada 1:48 — What kinds of free stuff do Canadians like? 2:34 — The digitization of loyalty programs 4:56 — How has inflation influenced how people use loyalty cards?  6:12 — The evolution of Scene+ 9:16 — What was the ultimate objective of creating Scene+? 10:26 — The biggest challenges in creating a new loyalty program 11:53 — The results so far of the Scene+ roll out 12:34 — Why loyalty programs are especially important during inflationary times 12:48 — Clinton’s all time favourite film  

The Bank of Canada surprised many with a smaller-than-expected rate hike of just 50 basis points. Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault is back to break down what this means and what the central bank is signaling about inflation and the economy ahead.Key moments this episode: 00:48 — First reactions: why this move is surprising and what it could signal 2:08 — How did we end up at this high of an interest rate? 3:05 — What impact will these rising interest rates have on daily life? 5:15 — Has employment been affected by interest rate increases? 6:35 — What is a monetary policy report and what did it say? 8:33 — What is a ‘technical recession’? 10:15 — What would a ‘technical recession’ mean for Canadians?