Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, December 1, 2023

Article Excerpt

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $61.00, Toronto symbol BNS, remains a buy. Due to the current economic uncertainty as a result of higher interest rates and inflation, Bank of Nova Scotia set aside $1.26 billion to cover future loan losses in its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, ended October 31, 2023. That’s up 137.4% from $529 million a year earlier. The bank is also cutting 3% of its global workforce as part of a plan to improve its long-term efficiency. If you exclude all unusual items, such as severance payments and the writedown of its stake in a Chinese bank, the bank’s earnings in the quarter fell 38.8%, to $1.26 a share (or a total of $1.53 billion) from $2.06 a share (or $2.47 billion). That missed the consensus estimate of $1.65 a share. The Canadian banking operations (38% of the total) reported 30.7% lower earnings in the quarter. In addition to the increased loan provisions, higher employee costs and spending on new technology weighed on earnings. Higher…