By Isabella Diez, Co-President One of the most expensive and innovative partnerships in the sports industry has just been confirmed and is expected to elevate both the sports and entertainment spaces.  FC Barcelona and Spotify have secured a strategic long-term partnership that will make the music streaming giant be the Main Partner of the Club and Official Audio Streaming Partner beginning in the 2022/2023 season. … Continue reading Barcelona Teams Up With Spotify

By Jawad Abbas, Staff Writer The shoe industry is well regarded as one of the most lucrative markets worldwide. “In 2020, the global footwear market was estimated to be worth over 365 billion U.S. dollars.” One of the biggest retailers in the footwear market is Foot Locker, who suffered a fatal blow when CEO, Richard Johnson, announced in an earnings call that “Nike, one of … Continue reading Nike Cuts Out Foot Locker

By Runisan Natheeswaran, Staff Writer As the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continues to unravel, the rest of the world continues to feel the impacts of the invasion, especially as already inflated oil prices skyrocket to new levels. In Canada, the annual inflation rate rose to 5.7% in February and gasoline prices rose 32.3%, climbing up to $1.86 per litre on March 8, as … Continue reading The Future of Electric Vehicles

By Samantha Bader, Co-President In yet another example of the many impacts that  the illegal invasion  of Ukraine has had around the world, the Premier League football club Chelsea is about to be sold. Chelsea had been previously owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, and when the British government announced the sanctions they were implementing against certain Russian nationals, Abramovich was included on that list.  … Continue reading Bids are In to Buy Chelsea

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer The Russian-Ukrainian War had begun in February 2014. Conflicts between Ukrainian and Pro-Russian separatist forces, rising political tensions, cyberwarfare and naval incidents had all contributed to a Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s border. A full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched on February 24, 2022, nearly a decade since the conflict had begun. The past month alone has had a … Continue reading Investing During Times of War

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer Two weeks ago, Ontario’s Provincial Government lifted the province’s vaccine mandate, meaning that proof-of-vax is no longer required for indoor, non-essential settings. Additionally, capacity limits in all indoor public settings such as gyms and theaters were lifted entirely. The Ford government also announced that the majority of mask mandates will be dropped next Monday. Though these changes provide us with … Continue reading The Business Behind Lifting Vaccine Mandates

By Rowland Goddard, Director of Finance Taiwan is a small country located on an island just 130 km away from mainland China. What was referred to as the Republic of China is a fully democratic state that opposes any governmental affiliation with China. Over the past decade, relations between the two countries have deteriorated and the effects of this can be felt in business internationally. … Continue reading China Eyes Taiwan

By Samantha Bader, Co-President As Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine continues to unfold, people in Canada are already beginning to notice the impact of the war Russia decided to start. Gas prices are rising to new heights, there’s an influx in refugees seeking shelter in Canada, and underneath it all, there looms a massive threat to the global food supply.  Ukraine and Russia together … Continue reading The War on Wheat

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer European gas soared this week as sanctions were implemented against Russia for their invasion of Ukraine elevated fears over further energy shortages. While the sanctions have excluded energy so far, the sector remains vulnerable as buyers, financiers and shippers cautiously move away from Russian flows. Pressures on Russian energy escalated on Friday, as major oil companies pulled Russian operations and … Continue reading Europe Looks to Reduce Reliance on Russian Energy

By Isabella Diez, Co-President The Canadian inflation rate surpassed 5% this past January. This has not been seen since the fall of 1991. This 30-year-high has affected gas, house, and food prices, and in response, Canadians are now changing their shopping behaviours. More than 66% of Canadians have adjusted their shopping habits due to inflation and the increase in prices, and more are planning on … Continue reading Paying Top Dollar

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer The S&P 500 index has returned an average of roughly 10.5% every year since its inception in 1926. Acting as a benchmark for the overall market, investment firms have been attempting to outpace S&P returns for decades. While many portfolio managers offer risk-averse solutions, other firms take a different approach in attempting to maximize investor gains. In this regard, ARK … Continue reading Investing in Innovation

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer If you have been paying attention to the news recently, you have almost undoubtedly seen headlines regarding the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Olympics, as an institution, have historically been built on principles such as “fair play, stoicism, and self improvement for self improvement’s sake”. And despite instances of corruption and massive sponsorship deals, the Olympic games represent the … Continue reading Economics of the Super Bowl

By Tony Jiao, Staff Writer As every young Canadian knows, these days housing isn’t exactly affordable. However, it would still be a stretch to call our current prices a “bubble”. A bubble typically occurs when a dramatic rise in price is not correlated with consistent demand, such as the housing bubble and the subsequent infamous crash of 2008. Looking back, it is easy to see … Continue reading A Look Back at the 2008 Crisis

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), is a core component of the EU’s climate change strategy, and seeks to provide regulation on the world’s largest and fastest growing carbon market. The EU ETS follows a cap-and-trade approach to regulation, where they set a cap on how much greenhouse gas pollution can be admitted each year, and reduce credits by 2.2% … Continue reading European Carbon Faces the Heat

By Samantha Bader, Co-President Switzerland has long been known as one of the banking capitals of the world. Their banks have a reputation for being fiercely private, and operating with little government interference. However, a case currently being waged in Swiss court could change all that. Credit Suisse, one of the largest banks, is on trial for money laundering. It’s the first instance in which … Continue reading Crime at Credit Suisse?

By Jonathan Paglialunga, Director of Operations In September of 2019, Peloton and its founder, John Foley went public with optimism about the future of the company on the trading floor. Two months later, Foley boasted about the “predictability of the revenue” for the technologically connected fitness company. In a November 2019 interview, Foley stated, “We know how to grow and stick the landings on what … Continue reading The Fall of Peloton

By Runisan Natheeswaran, Staff Writer On February 1, 2022, Alphabet Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings after market close, warranting a 7.5% rise in their stock price the following day. The stock still ended the week off with a 2.5% gain, despite the Facebook-led tech sell-off.  Alphabet reported better than expected fourth-quarter earnings and announced a 20-1 stock split that will take place in July. The company … Continue reading Alphabet Stock Jumps

By Isabella Diez, Co-President Consumers are accustomed to the price of gas and airline tickets changing daily, but now the prices of everyday items may be following suit. The rising costs of production, labour, shipping, and product shortages, which are viewed as consequences of the pandemic, are forcing retailers to consider implementing dynamic pricing. This trend is evident not only in online retail but in … Continue reading Rollercoaster Pricing takes Hold

By Jawad Abbas, Staff Writer On February 2nd, 2022, Meta announced its Q4 earnings report, which revealed a dismal quarter for the company in the latter months of 2021. Meta’s poor earnings reports resulted in the stock price plummeting by a whopping 26% in one day. But what exactly did Meta’s earning reports reveal that caused the company to lose around $251 billion in market … Continue reading Meta Stock Plummets

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer With the Olympics returning to Beijing for the Winter 2022 Games, each event carries a huge financial impact. Beijing, now the first city in which both the summer and winter Games have occurred, is no stranger to the costs of hosting. Although the Olympics bring an economic hit to its host country, there are upsides as well. However, it is … Continue reading The Billion Dollar Games

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had devastating worldwide impacts, affecting people from all walks of life and all corners of the world. However, it has not affected everyone in the same way, nor to the same magnitude. Even here in North America, the pandemic’s impacts on people have been far from uniform. Social and economic disparities have created a two-tier … Continue reading The Two-Tiered Pandemic

By Samantha Bader, Co-President With more and more Russian troops marching towards Ukraine each day, pressure is mounting for the EU, United Kingdom, and USA to undertake some form of action that would prevent the conflict from escalating into open war. A key pressure point has emerged in the form of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.  The Nord Stream 2 is a gas pipeline … Continue reading The Russian Pipeline Pressure Point

By Rowland Goddard, Director of Finance A world in which the most recognizable athletes are no longer paid in dollars or even promote their name on jerseys may be just around the corner. This new generation of athlete compensation is due to the acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a form of payment for goods and services. Players from the major American sports leagues are asking that … Continue reading Crypto in Sports

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer Wednesday was a huge day for markets, when both the Bank of Canada (BoC) and the US Federal Reserve reported pivotal interest rate decisions. Ahead of the meetings, equities rebounded slightly while both CAN and US rates were higher in the front-end. The BoC kicked off the day with a Rate Decision release at 10am. The BoC’s Forward Guidance includes … Continue reading Hawks but no Hikes

By Runisan Natheeswaran, Staff Writer The Covid-19 pandemic, responsible for the rise of “pandemic stocks”, is still ongoing, but gains pandemic stocks have previously made are now vanishing. The past week, major profile lockdown stocks Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Peloton Interactive Inc. (PTON) have taken a tumble, Shares of Netflix fell 21.8% Friday, its worst day since July 25, 2012, after fourth-quarter earnings reports revealed … Continue reading The End of Stay at Home Stocks

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer Netflix (NFLX) stock fell 21.79% late last week, to $397.50 per share, down from $508.25. The streaming giant, valued at roughly $230 billion prior to Thursday’s Q4 2021 earnings report, plummeted to a market cap of just over $176 billion by end-of-day Friday. Despite having over 220 million global subscribers, Netflix reported slightly lower-than-expected membership growth. This, in combination with … Continue reading Netflix Stock Streams Downwards

By Isabella Diez, Co-President Emerging as a small snowboard retailer, Shopify has now grown into an international billion-dollar company, and some say is now a direct competitor to the powerful Amazon.  Shopify Inc. is an online platform that assists customers with setting up the infrastructure required to run an e-commerce business. The company offers various capabilities, from selling and shipping products to gathering information on … Continue reading Shopify Goes Supersonic

By Jawad Abbas, Staff Writer On January 18th, 2022, Microsoft announced its ambition to acquire Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal. The tech giant has been making leaps and bounds as it strives to make changes in the gaming scene today and catch up to its Japanese counterpart, Sony. Many are familiar with the ongoing rivalry between Xbox and Playstation. The gaming giants have … Continue reading Microsoft Makes a Move

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer After weathering the initial economic storm brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Canada and the U.S. must face a new beast that has surfaced for the first time in decades: inflation. Inflation is defined by Investopedia as “the rate at which the value of a currency is falling and, consequently, the general level of prices for goods is rising.” In … Continue reading Inflation Winners and Losers

By Tony Jiao, Staff Writer At this point, anyone even remotely involved in finance will have heard of Gamestop’s wild ride over the past year. However, despite many expert opinions and analyses, very few answers have been put forth to explain Gamestop’s erratic price action almost exactly a year ago. With the anniversary of Gamestop’s rise to nearly $500 a share looming on the horizon, … Continue reading Questions Remain Around Gamestop Phenomenon

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer  Central Banks are mandated to support the financial and economic welfare of their countries. While they acted as a lifeline for the financial system over the pandemic, this year brings a hawkish pivot as leading economies overheat with unprecedented inflation. However, the ever-growing recognition of climate change and the overheating planet also spur considerable risk to financial stability.  Central Banks … Continue reading Central Banks Take on Climate Change

By Jonathan Paglialunga, Director of Operations With the start of 2022 just beginning, United States Technology Stocks are seeing the worst performance at the start of a year since 2016, fueled by runaway inflation and its detriment to the industry’s future.  Reaffirmed by this trend, the Nasdaq 100 index, which includes many colossal technology stocks, is down more than four percent this year. Even the … Continue reading Tech Stocks Take a Tumble

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer Snow is falling, temperatures are dropping, and Santa Claus is coming to town, meaning the festivities of Christmas are right around the corner. Despite the holidays’ emphasis on family celebration, and Mariah Carey’s modest gift list, the season has a tremendous financial impact; on individuals, small businesses, and the overall Canadian economy. Every year, December highlights new changes and trends … Continue reading Christmas in Canada by the Numbers

By Isabella Diez, Co-President Supply chain issues are having an affect on holiday shopping and are also causing shortages of another Christmas season necessity – the Christmas tree.  Canada is currently experiencing a Christmas tree shortage which may cause disappointment for some consumers this Christmas season. These shortages are due to a number of factors: disruptions in the supply chain, climate change, increases in demand, … Continue reading Christmas Tree Crisis

By Jawad Abbas, Staff Writer Almost two years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just as society was beginning to return back to normal, back to times before lockdown, the new Omicron variant of the virus has emerged, and is putting the world at bay. The Omicron variant is the latest of the several mutations of the COVID-19 virus. Succeeding the former … Continue reading Omicron Impacts

By Runisan Natheeswaran, Staff Writer This past week, The Big Six Canadian Banks reported their fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report and set their long-awaited dividend hikes and share buybacks after a year and a half hiatus.  The major six banks, Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD), Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX: BNS), Bank of Montreal (TSX: BMO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSX:CM) and … Continue reading Canadian Banks Resume Dividend Hikes

By Samantha Bader, Co-President While people in Canada gripe about the rising costs of gas and food, inflation in Turkey has shot up to such a level that people may soon be starving in the streets. In October, inflation in Turkey rose at least 20%, the Lira crashed, and there is no sign of better days on the horizon.  Rising consumer prices are truly a … Continue reading Trouble in Turkey

By Tony Jiao, Staff Writer Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, famously said that, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”  In an increasingly technologically advanced world of finance, this quote holds truer than ever before. From the … Continue reading The Secret Broker

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer Risk assets tumbled Friday off the news of the B.1.1.529 Covid-19 variant, named Omicron, from South Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated Omicron as a Variant of Concern, as it is regarded as more contagious than the Delta and somewhat more resistant to vaccines. While markets faced a huge selloff Friday, the long-term outlook depends on how the … Continue reading New Omicron Variant Shakes Markets

By Jonathan Paglialunga, Director of Operations Wall Street is displaying some concern with the increase in COVID-19 cases overseas amid potential European lockdowns due to their inability to contain the fourth wave. Market professionals are uneasy that an increase in cases could result in another pandemic winter which could be a key factor in reshaping the nation’s economic recovery. This negative thought process is the … Continue reading Nasdaq Closes at Record High

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer For many Canadians, the holidays can be an emotional and financially stressful time. Unfortunately, as the first signs of winter reveal themselves signalling the beginning of the holiday season, it is evident that the global supply chain will be adding to people’s holiday headaches this year. Supply Chain Issues The disrupted international supply chain has resulted in uncharacteristically long wait … Continue reading Holiday Shopping Horrors

By Ethan Currie, Staff Writer Albert Einstein once said, “compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.” Despite the lack of excitement that traditional index fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing shows, the results can be anything but boring. The best way to ensure consistent investment returns over a long-term horizon is to … Continue reading The Power in ‘Boring’ Investing

By Runisan Natheeswaran, Staff Writer The ability to repair your devices through a third party or by yourself has been a long and painful process for many people. Apple products have been notoriously known for their lack of repairability, with many consumers being forced to replace the product completely or to fix it through Apple or an Apple-affiliated servicer for an expensive price tag. However, … Continue reading Apple Joins the Right to Repair Movement

By Isabella Diez, Co-President Macy’s has recently received a suggestion to separate their e-commerce operations from their physical retail stores, but the response has not been positive. Saks Fifth Avenue, owned by Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC),  split into two companies earlier this year. This development resulted in keeping the e-commerce operations separate from brick and mortar.  Macy’s now is being influenced to do the same.  … Continue reading Macy’s Multiplies

By Rowland Goddard, Director of Finance The start of a Formula One race consists of 20 professional race car drivers lined up on a grid facing a blinking traffic light. Red lights illuminate, counting to five and then all lights are out and the race is on. Drivers accelerate their spaceship-like cars to speeds to over 250 km/h and it’s a race to the first … Continue reading Formula One: Driven by Money

By Jawad Abbas, Staff Writer The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, has decided to sell 10% of his Tesla shares. On October 26, David Beasley, the director of the UN’s World Food Programme declared that it was time for the ultra-wealthy to “step up now, on a one-time basis. Six billion dollars to help 42 million people that are literally going to die … Continue reading Musk Sells Tesla Stock

By Johanna Fernandes, Staff Writer This has been a long week of conglomerate breakups, causing markets to question the future of a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ business model. General Motors, Toshiba, and Johnson and Johnson are the latest this week to announce spinoffs. Once advantageous synergies of diversified companies now bring in higher costs to businesses across industries. A movement of over $600 billion in market capitalization signals … Continue reading The End of the Conglomerate Era

By Tony Jiao, Staff Writer Do you remember Gamestop?  That’s right, that store we used to go to when we were children to buy our Nintendo DS games. Or maybe, if you were lucky, Xbox or Playstation games. Where are they now? The answer of ‘in the centre of illegal securities fraud and an online investment revolution’ likely doesn’t come to mind. And yet, that … Continue reading GameStop: The Game that Went too Far

By Forrester Sorensen, Staff Writer Over the past few weeks, the Rogers family’s public struggle for control of Rogers Communications has been a real-life Canadian soap opera and has drawn comparisons to the hit HBO show Succession. If you grew up with siblings, you likely have an inherent understanding of petty family squabbles and all that comes with them. Insignificant issues like who ate the … Continue reading Rogers Family Feud