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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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Washington Warns of Trade Measures Over Global Shipping Emissions Plan

 

A cargo ship full of shipping containers departs the port of Oakland at the San Francisco Bay, California


The United States has formally rejected the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) “Net-Zero Framework,” a proposal aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from the global shipping sector, and has threatened retaliatory measures against countries that support it.

In a joint statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy declared the Trump administration’s “unequivocal” opposition to the plan, arguing it would raise costs for U.S. citizens, energy providers, shipping companies, and tourists.

The warning comes ahead of an October vote at the United Nations’ shipping agency, where a two-thirds majority of ratifying member states will be needed for adoption. The U.S., one of 176 IMO members, withdrew from negotiations in April and has urged others to reconsider their support.

Supporters of the framework — including China, Brazil, and EU nations — say it is essential to curb the nearly 3% of global carbon dioxide emissions generated by maritime transport. Many major shipping companies have already pledged to achieve net-zero operations by 2050, with industry groups calling for incentives such as carbon levies to offset the higher cost of green fuels.

The dispute underscores the widening rift between Washington and other IMO members over climate policy in the shipping industry, a sector responsible for moving roughly 80% of world trade.

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