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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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Wall Street Futures Edge Higher as Rate-Cut Hopes Lift Sentiment; UnitedHealth Soars on Buffett Boost

 

U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed but generally upbeat open on Friday, buoyed by growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose about 0.63%, while S&P 500 futures inched up 0.06%. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.19% as weakness in tech tempered broader gains.

Healthcare stocks led the premarket rally, with UnitedHealth Group surging more than 12% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a significant new stake in the insurer. Other health insurers, including Elevance, Centene, and Molina, also advanced over 4% each.

Investors are betting on a 25-basis-point rate cut next month, encouraged by signs of labor market softness and muted inflationary impact from recent tariffs. The Fed last lowered rates in December, and analysts say the latest data strengthens the case for renewed monetary easing.

Market attention now turns to July retail sales and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report, both due later today, for further clues on the economy’s trajectory.

Meanwhile, chip equipment maker Applied Materials tumbled nearly 15% after issuing a weak outlook on sluggish China demand, dragging peers KLA and Lam Research lower.

Crude oil prices hovered near $65 a barrel ahead of a high-profile meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which markets hope could yield progress on the Ukraine conflict.

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