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BoC Opens the Door to Rate Hikes: What It Means for Your Mortgage

  Published September 4, 2026 The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2 — the seventh straight hold — but Governor Tiff Macklem didn't sound like a central banker done for the year. He told reporters the Bank is "prepared to raise interest rates, and if it takes more than one increase, we're prepared to do that," if inflation stays too high. That's a real shift in tone, and it lands right as a wave of Canadians hit their mortgage renewal date. Here's what changed, who's forecasting what, and what it actually means for your payment. Why the Bank Suddenly Sounds Hawkish Canada's annual inflation rate has climbed to around 3% — a full point above the Bank's 2% target — and the Bank is pointing squarely at energy prices. Oil has stayed elevated because of the Iran conflict and disruption near the Strait of Hormuz, pushing gas prices up and dragging headline CPI with it. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, is still s...

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Fresh Aftershocks Deepen Afghanistan’s Earthquake Tragedy

 

A boy stands in front of houses damaged by a deadly earthquake that struck Afghanistan's Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, at Masud village in Nurgal district, Kunar province, Afghanistan, September 4, 2025. 


Two powerful aftershocks have struck eastern Afghanistan within 12 hours, compounding the devastation from a series of deadly earthquakes that have killed more than 2,200 people in just four days.

The tremors — measuring 5.4 and 5.5 in magnitude — rattled Nangarhar province late Thursday and early Friday, sending terrified residents back into the open as damaged homes threatened to collapse. The aftershocks followed a 6.0-magnitude quake on Sunday and another strong tremor on Tuesday, which flattened entire villages in Nangarhar and neighbouring Kunar, destroying over 6,700 homes.

Rescue operations remain hampered by landslides, blocked roads, and the remote, mountainous terrain. Survivors are enduring harsh conditions in makeshift shelters, with the United Nations and aid agencies warning of a critical shortage of food, medical supplies, and safe water. The World Health Organization has appealed for $4 million in emergency funding to prevent disease outbreaks in overcrowded camps.

The Taliban government has called for urgent international assistance, but relief has been slow to arrive in a country already grappling with poverty, conflict, and limited global engagement since 2021.


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