The Living Market Podcast

The Bank of Canada (BoC) just raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.5%; the question is no longer when the next cut is coming, but how many hikes might still lie ahead. Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, breaks down why a stronger economy and sticky inflation above 3% have shifted the BoC's outlook, what it means for bond investors, and how rising rate differentials and elevated oil prices could give the Canadian dollar a lift.

After a month of sitting on the sidelines during the earnings blackout, corporate America is about to return as the market’s biggest buyer. Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, breaks down why buybacks beat dividends, how the baton has passed from Big Tech to banks and industrials, and why a record chequebook could mean a firmer, broader finish to the year.

Bitcoin miners spent years securing land, substations and access to massive quantities of power, and now AI companies want it. Ashish Utarid, Assistant Vice-President, Investment Strategy at IG Wealth Management, breaks down how publicly traded mining companies are redirecting their infrastructure toward AI computing workloads, why the value of power is changing, and what it means for investors watching the next phase of the AI investment cycle.

When you hear “emerging markets”, what comes to mind? For many investors, it’s still the old picture of cheap labour, commodity exports and the occasional currency crisis. Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, updates that picture, explaining why emerging markets today offer growth at half the valuation of U.S. stocks, with AI hardware, Chinese consumption and commodity inputs all bundled into one allocation. He also discusses why the risks that come with them may provide exactly the kind of diversification your portfolio needs.

Long-term bond yields have surged to levels not seen in years, and they're reshaping the investment landscape. Pierre-Benoît Gauthier, Vice-President, Investment Strategy at IG Wealth Management, explains why rising yields are becoming the market's most important variable, how a correction beneath the surface of major indices is creating opportunities, and why strong earnings continue to do the heavy lifting for stocks.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike is reshaping the investment landscape, from the Magnificent Seven to AI infrastructure and utility stocks. Ashish Utarid, Assistant Vice-President of Investment Strategy at IG Wealth Management, breaks down why a crowded stock market is most vulnerable when rates rise, what the hidden cost of AI's boom means for your portfolio, and how to position yourself when the landlord starts raising the rent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve just raised interest rates for the first time in three years and it’s unlikely to stop at one. Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, breaks down why stubborn inflation leaves the central bank with little choice but to keep hiking, and what it means for the Canadian dollar and Canadian investors holding American assets.

When U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said "I am the house," Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, took issue with the comparison. A casino is the house because the math structurally favours it. The U.S. Treasury is something else entirely: issuer, debtor, refinancing agent, regulator and occasional buyer, all at once. And at the end of every one of those roles sits the same requirement: roughly $30 trillion of government debt has to live on somebody else's balance sheet. Philip explains why the Treasury needs the market far more than the market needs the Treasury, why the buyback program won't fix the real problem and why the bond market is betting that Bessent loses.

This week, Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management shares the key trends currently dominating the team’s market strategy conversations and what they mean for investors. These include consistent double-digit earnings growth, growing interest rate risk, Canada’s economic momentum, the opportunities within energy and the long-term case for AI. He also shares what the team is watching out for, including corporate profits, inflation, central bank policies and geopolitics, and their potential impacts on the markets.   

The U.S. Treasury quietly doubled the size of its bond buyback operations in August. The market called it QE-lite, a nod to the Federal Reserve's crisis-era quantitative easing program of creating new money to buy bonds. Philip Petursson, Chief Investment Strategist at IG Wealth Management, explains why that label is wrong, what the Treasury is actually doing and why the relief lasted about a day before disappearing. He breaks down what it means for investors, why the two-to-seven-year range offers the best balance of income and risk right now, and why Canadian bond yields follow U.S. long-term rates whether we like it or not.