Taking Stock with Amanda Lang

Inflation soars to new highs driven by gas; a million job vacancies in Canada in April points to tight labour market; workers are feeling their power with job actions across the country; Canada needs 5.8 million new homes built by 2030. 

Freeland unveils nothing new in affordability fight; US central bank hikes rates most in almost 30 years; household debt has moderated slightly but is still high; while house prices continue to soften; vaccine mandates are lifted for domestic travel, but not international visitors; Quebec businesses warn Bill 96 will make hiring staff even harder. 

Higher rates are a problem for some Canadians, but the central bank is too focused on the need to fight inflation to do anything but keep raising them.  The number of workers who want a hybrid work situation is at an all time high but what about those who don’t have the option? Is there another solution in a four-day work week. Living in cities is increasingly unaffordable for young peo...

The Bank of Canada raises interest rates again; GDP growth in Canada misses expectations as concerns about inflation continue; Tim Hortons violated its users privacy; Flair Airlines is deemed Canadian enough; and Rogers and Shaw put their deal on hold to try to appease the competition bureau.

How can a recession be coming when the job market is so healthy? Why can’t government’s do more to help with affordability? and businesses are going bankrupt again as government supports roll off, It’s the biggest year-over-year jump in insolvencies in 31 years, but off a pandemic low. 

What does Crypto currencies' crazy ride tell us about its future? Ian Khan, documentary filmmaker “The Bitcoin Dilemma”; The S&P 500 enters into bear market territory, navigating volatile markets with Kevin O’Leary, Chairman, O’Leary Financial Group;  It’s currently legal for employers in Canada to spy on their workers…that could soon change. Howard Le...

Is competition working in wireless?, Inflation hits small business hard  and Work from home: the future or a bust?   

Is the push to electric cars practical?, construction workers strike in Ontario demanding higher pay, coping with high costs and supply chain issues and new data on mental health shows the heavy toll on workers. 

The offshoring of jobs for low wages, Jim Stanford, Centre for the Future of Work. The housing economy in Canada; Mike Moffatt, Smart Prosperity, and Ian Lee, Carleton University. Meeting Canada’s ambitious net zero goals – Francois Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.

Cooling a hot housing market without collapsing it. Inflation is a growing concern and the fix for it could be painful. Netflix is trying to change the bargain it has struck with its customers. 

Round table on the budget: Robert Asselin, senior VP of policy at the business council of Canada. And Armine Yalnizyan, senior fellow at the Atkinson foundation.

In pushing for aggressive emission reduction, Canada would do well to acknowledge the pain and suffering that will be felt along the way 

This week we look ahead to the coming federal budget – what do businesses want, and what might be in the budget?

This week we tackle the winners and losers of our long dance with cheap credit  and what happens as it comes to an end.

Food Security as conflict in Ukraine disrupts flow of commodities – Olivier De Shutter, chair of IPES Food, and advisor to the UN. Pipeline Politics – Tim McMillan, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers; Paul Poscente, CEO of Nesika Services. Gender pay gap – Rona Ambrose, chair of Women’s Economic Council of Canada

If there’s a theme for markets and governments this week, it’s surely, do what you can, even if you’re not sure it will work. That is most certainly how we would characterize the global sanctions on Russia, as fighting worsened in Ukraine. More coordinated than we’ve seen in memory, the sanctions nevertheless may take more time to work than Ukrainians have to wait. Canada i...

Nature abhors a vacuum and markets abhor the unknown. So it comes down to the weird logic of knowing something has happened - even if its bad - that saw global markets whip saw this week. 

A new read on inflation shows it’s still going strong, in fact getting stronger, up more than 5% in January.

COVID protests continue, now slowing trade and threatening higher inflation, plus, a housing task force has as blunt message about more density in city neighborhoods’ and, taking on big tech -- how to hold companies like Google more accountable.

More than 200,000 jobs were lost in the month of January, as businesses adjusted to another round of Covid-19 restrictions. With better news on the health front emerging, will business owners be able to find the much-needed workers when it’s time to get back to business? 

All eyes were on central banks this week and many thought interest rates were headed higher in Canada. Instead the Bank of Canada signalled the end of its 'emergency measures' with a warning rates are likely to rise and soon.

In the premiere episode of Taking Stock with Amanda Lang we look at all the pocketbook pressure building across the nation. From inflation to housing costs to shipping -- plus a deep dive into the expected interest rate hike now just days away.

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