Perspectives

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? 

Canada’s Indigenous Peoples face unique financial barriers, especially when it comes to accessing capital or credit. In this episode, our guest is Jon Davey, the Vice President of Indigenous Financial Services at Scotiabank. He’ll explain the root of the challenges that still exist for Indigenous-owned businesses as well as success stories he’s seen when it comes to economic reconciliation and how that can help unlock “Canada’s competitive advantage.” Also, how the advice his father gave him about taking pride in his Haudenosaunee heritage still informs the work he does today.  Key moments this episode: 1:30 — Why does a bank need Indigenous Financial Services?  3:46 — What are some of the unique challenges that only Indigenous businesses face? 5:59 — Are people aware of these limitations outside of the Indigenous community? 8:03 — Understanding the roots and economic implications of Canada’s Indian Act 10:02 — Why navigating Indigenous economic regulations can be so difficult 12:37 — Why starting a business on reserve despite the hurdles is so necessary  14:34 — Is business a component of reconciliation?  17:02 — Success stories Jon has seen  19:16 — How Jon’s Haudenosaunee heritage influences his work

On Tuesday, the federal government will table its 2023 budget. Armina Ligaya chats with Rebekah Young, Vice President and Head of Inclusion and Resilience Economics at Scotiabank, to explore what key themes are predicted, where we might see spending, how much and why —and go over some remaining question marks.Key moments this episode: 00:26 — The four big themes we’re likely to see 1:40 — How this year’s budget may differ from last year 3:16 — Unpacking the main themes – affordability 6:47 — What will this new spending mean for the bottom line? 8:37 — What will we see in regards to the green economy?9:43 — What is the Inflation Reduction Act and how does it affect Canada? 12:15 — How will healthcare spending play into the budget? 14:18 — Is there anything we might not see that we expected to? 16:30 — Rebekah gives us some insight into the budget day media lock up 

A cognitive bias, or psychological bias, is like a subconscious trick your brain plays on you that might cloud your judgment. When it comes to investing, there’s a unique set of cognitive biases that could prevent you from making rational decisions with your money. Andy Nasr, the Chief Investment Officer at Scotia Wealth Management, is back to break down five common investing biases and how you can avoid them.Key moments this episode: 1:30 — Before we start, Stephen has to get something important off his chest with Andy2:03 — What is a psychological bias when it comes to investing? 3:30 — Investing bias #1: overconfidence  5:35 — Investing bias #2: regret aversion 11:34 — Investing bias #3: herding 12:37 — Investing bias #4: being overwhelmed by options 15:47 — Investing bias #5: the endowment effect 17:24 — The most important takeaway when it comes to looking at these biases 

As widely expected, the Bank of Canada today held its policy interest rate steady at 4.5%. It’s welcome relief for Canadians after a year of consecutive rate hikes. The central bank made good on its word back in January, when Governor Tiff Macklem said it was taking a “conditional pause” on interest rate hikes amid signs that inflation was slowing. Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault returns to chat with Armina Ligaya from the Perspectives newsroom team and break down how long this pause may last, when we could see rates begin to drop and why the U.S. central bank’s anticipated hikes may have a ripple effect on the Bank of Canada.