The Bank of Canada (BoC) raised its overnight rate by 0.25% last Wednesday, as expected, and lenders wasted no time in increasing their prime rates, on which our variable-rate mortgages are priced, by the same amount. The key question now is what happens next? Should we expect more increases by the BoC at their upcoming meetings? Or will the BoC adopt a more cautious wait-and-see approach? How will our economy, with its newfound momentum still far from assured, respond?

Last week’s Canadian and U.S. employment data make it a virtual certainty that both the Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise rates this month. In today’s post I provide the highlights from the latest employment reports for both countries and discuss the implications for both our fixed and variable mortgage rates.

Last week the futures market raised the odds of a Bank of Canada rate rise at its July meeting to better than 50% and the Loonie soared against the Greenback, reaching a nine-month high. Government of Canada (GoC) bond yields surged higher and mortgage lenders wasted no time, quickly raising their fixed rates, which are priced on GoC bond yields, in response. In today’s post, I’ll explain why the BoC is planning to raise its overnight rate soon, offer my take on the impacts that this will have on our economy, and most urgently, offer my two cents on whether variable-rate borrowers should now convert to a fixed-rate mortgage.

Is the Bank of Canada (BoC) really about to begin raising interest rates as some market watchers now believe? Today's post looks at the latest inflation data and explains why the BoC might not be able to raise rates even if it wants to.

The Bank of Canada surprised markets last week when it adopted a more hawkish tone regarding future interest-rate rises. In today’s post I outline the Bank’s case for raising its policy rate sooner than expected and I explain why I don’t think variable-rate borrowers should panic when their courage is tested.

This impressive growth in new Canadian jobs last month was an encouraging sign that the surge in our first-quarter GDP has stimulated momentum in our broader economy. Interestingly, and somewhat confoundingly, that momentum still hasn’t fueled any meaningful increase in our average wage growth - so while willing Canadians are working, they aren’t seeing an increase in their purchasing power. Here are five key highlights from our latest employment data (for May), along with my take on the implications for Canadian mortgage rates.

The latest U.S. employment data disappointed but despite this, the Fed continues to prepare financial markets for another policy-rate increase in June, and the futures market is currently assigning a 94% probability that this will occur. While that might seem counter-intuitive for a Fed that has until recently focused its monetary policy on improving the health of the U.S. labour market, I think the Fed’s upcoming decision will mark a change in approach and in today’s post I explain why.