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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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Hamas Stands Firm: No Disarmament Without Palestinian Statehood

                                Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade

In a defiant statement issued Saturday, Hamas declared it will not disarm unless an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state—with Jerusalem as its capital—is established. The announcement comes amid stalled ceasefire negotiations with Israel and growing international pressure to end the war in Gaza.

The militant group, which has governed Gaza since 2007, reaffirmed its commitment to "armed resistance" as a legitimate right under international law. This stance directly challenges a key Israeli demand for Hamas to lay down its weapons as a prerequisite for any peace agreement.

Recent mediation efforts led by Qatar and Egypt, and supported by France and Saudi Arabia, proposed a two-state solution that includes Hamas transferring its arms to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. However, Hamas rejected the proposal, citing the absence of a concrete path to statehood.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the idea of a Palestinian state, calling it a “platform to destroy Israel.” He criticized countries like the UK and Canada for their plans to recognize Palestinian statehood, arguing such moves reward terrorism.

The conflict, which began with Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, has resulted in over 60,000 Palestinian deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Despite mounting global calls for peace, both sides remain entrenched, with hostages still held and ceasefire talks at a standstill.

As the international community weighs recognition of Palestinian statehood, Hamas’s ultimatum underscores the deep divisions and unresolved tensions that continue to fuel one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.


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