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The Fed Decides Wednesday — Here's What It Means for Your Mortgage, the Loonie, and Your RRSP

  Monday, July 27, 2026 The U.S. Federal Reserve hands down its rate decision at 2 p.m. ET on July 29. For most Canadians it will feel like background noise. It isn't — here's the plain-language version of why it touches your mortgage, your cross-border spending, and whatever's sitting in your RRSP. The short version: Markets are pricing roughly a two-in-three chance the Fed holds its rate at 3.50%–3.75% on Wednesday. That's not the story. The story is that this is one of the least certain "sure thing" holds in years — and Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference at 2:30 p.m. ET could matter more than the decision itself. Why this meeting is different The Fed has held its benchmark rate steady at 3.50%–3.75% through every meeting so far in 2026. On paper, Wednesday should be more of the same. Under the hood, it's messier. Persistent inflation, running well above the Fed's 2% target for a fifth straight year, has kept a rate hike on the table. The oil-...

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Tariff Turbulence: Trump’s Trade Salvo Rattles Markets Ahead of Earnings Season

Wall Street and TSX futures dipped Friday morning as President Donald Trump reignited trade tensions with a sweeping new round of tariffs. The U.S. announced a 35% levy on Canadian imports starting August 1, while Trump floated blanket tariffs of 15% to 20% on other trading partners—up from the current 10% baseline.

The move sent Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures down between 0.5% and 0.7%, with similar declines seen in Canadian TSX futures. Investors, already bracing for next week’s earnings season, are now recalibrating expectations amid heightened trade uncertainty.

Despite the market jitters, analysts noted a growing resilience among investors. The reaction to Trump’s latest tariff barrage was notably more muted than the volatility seen during April’s “Liberation Day” announcements. Still, the timing—just ahead of key corporate earnings and inflation data—adds a layer of complexity to market sentiment.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency stocks ticked higher, buoyed by Bitcoin’s surge to a new record. And as Wall Street’s big banks prepare to report results next week, all eyes will be on how trade disruptions are reflected in corporate performance.



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