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5 Things to Know Today: BoC Hike Odds, Fixed Rates, Tariff Swap, $100 Oil & Budget Countdown (Oct. 25)

  Canadian Money Brief • Sunday, October 25, 2026 A big week for your wallet starts Wednesday. Here are the five things Canadians should know before it begins. 1 The Bank of Canada decides Wednesday, and markets lean toward a hike The Bank of Canada announces its rate decision at 9:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 28, alongside a new Monetary Policy Report. Prediction markets price roughly a 79% chance of a quarter-point hike to 2.50%, up sharply after Governor Tiff Macklem’s hawkish comments at the IMF meetings, though analysts remain split and some expect a “hawkish hold.” The U.S. Fed also decides that day. What it means for you: Variable-rate mortgage and HELOC holders feel it first. A 0.25-point hike works out to roughly $70 more per month on a $500,000 variable mortgage (25-year amortization), and prime would move from 4.45% to 4.70%. A hold means little change until the next decision on Dec. 9. 2 Fixed mortgage rates have already moved without the Bank Fixed rates follow bond ...

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Global IT Meltdown: Faulty CrowdStrike Update Causes Widespread Chaos

 

In an unprecedented turn of events, a faulty update from cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike has triggered a global IT meltdown, causing millions of Windows computers to crash with the infamous “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD). The update, intended to enhance the security of CrowdStrike’s flagship product, Falcon Sensor, instead resulted in a critical failure that left businesses, airports, banks, and healthcare systems in disarray.

The issue began late Thursday and quickly spread as regions around the world started their day. The BSOD, a bright blue error screen indicating a critical system failure, appeared on millions of devices, rendering them unusable. CrowdStrike confirmed that the problem was due to a “logic error” in the update, which caused the operating system to crash.

The impact was immediate and widespread. Airports experienced significant delays, supermarket checkouts malfunctioned, and businesses struggled to maintain operations. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz issued an apology and assured that a fix had been deployed, but recovery is expected to take time due to the complexity of the issue.

Microsoft, whose Azure cloud services were also affected, is working closely with CrowdStrike to provide technical guidance and support to affected customers. As systems slowly come back online, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities inherent in our increasingly digital world.


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