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Bank of Canada Holds at 2.25% — What the Fine Print Means for You

  July 15, 2026  |  Canadian Money Brief The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% today, exactly as every economist surveyed expected. The number didn't move — but the story underneath it did. Between renewed oil-market chaos, a stubbornly hot inflation reading, and an economy that's finally showing signs of life, this "boring" hold decision was anything but simple. If you've been following our preview piece from earlier this week , this is the follow-up: what actually happened, and what it means for your mortgage, your savings, and your grocery bill. The Decision, in Plain English This marks the sixth consecutive hold since the Bank's last cut back in October 2025. The overnight rate stays at 2.25%, the Bank Rate at 2.5%, and the deposit rate at 2.20%. Bank prime — the number that actually determines your variable mortgage or line of credit rate — stays put at 4.45%. Governor Tiff Macklem has described this level as sitting near the bottom of the Bank...

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Hospitals in China Overwhelmed with Post-Covid Surge in Respiratory Illnesses Among Children

 


According to recent news reports, hospitals in Beijing and northern China are struggling to cope with a surge of children with respiratory illnesses as the country enters its first winter since relaxing stringent Covid-19 controls nearly one year ago.

The situation has become so dire that wait times to see doctors stretch for hours, with hundreds of patients queuing at some children’s hospitals in major cities across northern China . An official at the Beijing Children’s Hospital told state media that the current average of more than 7,000 daily patients “far exceeds the hospital’s capacity”.

he World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China to provide more information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and “reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children”. Health officials in Beijing and other major cities in northern China have said typical seasonal illnesses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as well as mycoplasma pneumonia – a bacterial infection that typically causes mild infection and commonly affects children – were driving causes .


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