US President Trump is touting what he calls the biggest energy deal ever: a plan to gain control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves and boost Us energy supply. But is it fact, fiction, or political spin?

Host Mike Eppel speaks to Tim Pickering, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Auspice Capital. They dig into the claims, the impact of rising global oil prices, growing tensions in key energy markets, and what it all could mean for Canada.

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Canadian small businesses are a big part of the economy. And like the rest of us, they're dealing with more tariffs as the trade war with the US heats up again, with Canadian counter tariffs set to take effect next month. It's the latest economic hit coming from south of the border, just as businesses were seeing a degree of recovery from the pandemic.

Host Kris McCusker speaks to Brad Poulus, lecturer in the Entrepreneurship Department at The Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. They discuss how these latest levies could hit small businesses, if the government is doing enough to help them, and if there are any potential new trade opportunities for them abroad.

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The U.S. government has reached a staggering milestone: $40 trillion in debt. As deficits continue to grow and borrowing costs rise, bond investors are demanding higher yields, pushing long-term Treasury rates to their highest levels in decades.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to Tiago Figueiredo, Macro Strategist at Desjardins Financial to discuss what's driving the bond market turmoil, how Washington is responding, and whether America's debt burden could become a bigger threat to markets and the broader economy.

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2026 has certainly been a "headline driven" year for the markets. Whether it's A.I., war, tariffs and trade, or inflation and interest rates, the markets have seen big daily price swings, and several sectors have seen huge percentage run-ups for stocks—along with big losses. As of the first week of august, the TSX composite index, Dow Jones industrials average, and Nasdaq have all set record highs, up by on average 12% to 14% for the year, a respectable rate of return for money in an index fund.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to Jordan Damiani, an investment advisor and certified financial planner at Meridian Credit Union, about being focused on the big picture, and why and how to keep calm and stay strategic with your investments instead of being distracted by the headlines and the flood of so called "finfluencers" on social media platforms.

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OpenAI recently went rogue, hacking into an AI start-up in a matter of hours.

It stunned some – even those in the tech industry – but it also opened the door to a series of new questions as companies and consumers rely more and more on the technology.

Host Kris McCusker gets some perspective on what it really means from Charles Findlay, Executive Director of the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University.

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Back in June of 2021, the federal government legalized single-event sports betting in Canada, birthing a multi-billion dollar industry basically overnight. Licenses began being granted in Ontario the next year, with formerly off-shore companies rushing into Canada to apply. Now, just this month, Alberta has decided it too wants a piece of the action. Will other provinces be next?

Host Mike Eppel is speaking with Steve McCallister, Editor and Chief of Gaming News Canada, about how the industry has grown over the years, why other provinces haven't jumped in as quickly as Ontario did, what the future of sports betting might be in Canada, and more.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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The biggest World Cup ever is over – with 13 matches played on Canadian soil. The Canadian men’s team saw a fair bit of success on the pitch, but it’s more difficult to define success for the host cities, Vancouver and Toronto. Many contend there were some big positives to come out of the event – some of them unexpected.

In this episode of In This Economy?! host Kris McCusker speaks to Royce Chwin, President and CEO of Destination Vancouver and Andrew Weir, President and CEO at Destination Toronto about how they measure success, why it might take time for all the “results” to be in, and how this could lead to more big events in the future.

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Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to get high marks from Canadians on his handling of the economy, despite the actual economic performance numbers showing that real gross domestic product has shrunk by 0.05% since he was elected, presiding over the worst first year of growth for a Prime Minister since at least 1963.

However, a Nanos research group poll shows 60% of Canadians think Carney has done a very good or good job of handling economic issues. The data suggests Canadians are blaming global factors for the economic slump rather than Carney himself.

But how long can that be expected to last? With Canadian households dealing with pocketbook issues such as high prices for gasoline and food, along with uncertainty about the job market, will those numbers start to decline? Or will they be solid so long as U.S. President Donald Trump is in the White House?

In today's episode of In This Economy?! host Mike Eppel speaks with Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos research.

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With the rise of A.I. and hybrid work, there were concerns that demand for office space would weaken. In reality, return to office policies and a growing corporate footprint for some of the country's biggest companies has led to increased demand for office space and a drop in office vacancy rates. New buildings, those with the best amenities, and good locations are in the highest demand. And the industrial vacancy rate (think logistics plants and warehousing) has tightened-- dropping in the GTA to just 2.2%, the lowest in the country. Both are positive signs for the economy.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Artificial intelligence is working its way into our daily lives – and it’s probably turning up in places you hadn’t though of – like the local coffee shop. While there are many positive applications, the technology is also very expensive to run – and not just financially. And while it continues to proliferate into our workplaces, our homes, and the public, it remains something few people, even those politicians charged with regulating it, actually understand.

Today on In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Richard Lachman, professor of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. He recently published a book called “Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI,” designed to help policy-makers, professionals, educators, and regular citizens understand all the impacts this groundbreaking technology could have.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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