Happy Family Day memories. I used the holiday yesterday for its stated purpose so today’s post will be short and sweet. Five-year Government of Canada (GoC) bond yields rose by one basis point last week, closing at 0.59% on Friday. Five-year fixed-rate mortgages are available in the 2.49% to 2.74% range, depending on the terms and conditions that are important to you, and five-year fixed pre-approvals are offered at rates as low as 2.79%. Five-year variable-rate mortgages are available in the prime minus 0.40% to prime minus 0.30% range, which translates into rates of 2.30% to 2.40% using today’s prime rate of 2.70%. The Bottom Line: Rising instability risks in China, Japan, the euro zone and across many emerging-market economies are making investors increasingly nervous about what lies ahead. […]

Canadian and U.S. Employment Lower Than Expected in January - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (February 8, 2016)

The U.S. Federal Reserve left its policy rate unchanged last week, as was widely expected, but it also surprised markets by adopting a far more dovish tone about the U.S. economy’s prospects. How quickly circumstances can change. When the Fed raised its policy rate in December, its rate-setting committee had predicted that there would be four more rate hikes in 2016. Now, just a month later, the Fed sounds much more cautious and U.S. fourth-quarter GDP growth just clocked in at a paltry 0.7%. Investors are now betting that the next Fed rate hike won’t be until February 2017 (according to CME Group 30-Day Fed Fund futures prices). The U.S. Fed’s policy statements matter to Canadian mortgage borrowers because our economies are deeply interlinked. That means that while […]

Why the Bank of Canada Didn’t Deliver Its Expected Rate Cut - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (January 25, 2016)

Why Aren’t Canadian Mortgage Rates Falling When They Should? - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (January 18, 2016)

What the Latest Canadian and U.S. Employment Data Mean for Our Mortgage Rates - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (January 11, 2016)

Five Factors That Will Drive Canadian Mortgage Rates in 2016 - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (January 4, 2016)

Why the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Rate Hike Might Push Canadian Fixed Mortgage Rates Higher - Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (December 21, 2015)