9 Dec

Bond market bets on 50-bps Bank of Canada rate cut next week after rise in unemployment

Interest Rates

Posted by: Dean Kimoto

Observers say that if there’s one economic indicator likely to be concerning Bank of Canada officials, it’s the higher-than-expected rise in Canada’s unemployment rate last month.” According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate rose to 6.8%, up 0.3 percentage points from October and 0.2 percentage points higher than expected.   Excluding […]

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3 Dec

Why three big banks raised fixed mortgage rates despite falling bond yields

Latest News

Posted by: Dean Kimoto

Despite low bond yields, banks and other lenders are continuing to raise rates. We talked to several rate experts to understand why. Bond yields have plunged over 30 basis points (0.30 percentage points) over the past two weeks. As regular readers of Canadian Mortgage Trends know, bond yields typically influence fixed mortgage rate pricing. However, […]

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4 Oct

‘Not free money’: What students should know before getting their first credit card

General

Posted by: Dean Kimoto

Everyone starts building their credit score somewhere — and for many, it’s getting that first credit card during college or university. By Nina Dragicevic Financial institutions know whatever card you get is likely to be kept for a long time. These products are “sticky,” said Robin Taub, a chartered professional accountant in Toronto, and author of […]

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30 Sep

B.C. Conservatives, NDP both announce plans to help ease B.C. housing crisis

General

Posted by: Dean Kimoto

Both of the main candidates in British Columbia’s election campaign pushed their own plans to solve parts of the housing crisis. By Nono Shen and Brieanna Charlebois B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad told a news conference in Surrey that his government would end the multi-year permit delays and would get homes built at the speed and […]

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27 Sep

OSFI to end stress test requirement for uninsured mortgage switches starting Nov. 21

General

Posted by: Dean Kimoto

OSFI has confirmed that it will remove the requirement for lenders to apply the Minimum Qualifying Rate (MQR) to straight switches of uninsured mortgages. Superintendent Peter Routledge confirmed that OSFI will formally announce this change on November 21, 2024, as part of the regulator’s quarterly release pilot.   This change will allow borrowers to switch […]

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