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5 Things to Know Today: BoC Hike Odds Near 80%, Oil Tops US$100, Loonie Hits 5-Week High

  Canadian Money Brief  |  Saturday, October 24, 2026 The Bank of Canada is expected to raise rates on Wednesday, oil is back above US$100 and stocks slipped on AI worries. Here are the five things to know this Saturday, and what each one means for your wallet. 1 The Bank of Canada is widely expected to hike on Wednesday Markets are putting roughly an 80% chance on a quarter-point increase at the Bank of Canada’s Oct. 28 decision, which would lift the policy rate from 2.25% to 2.50%. A majority of economists polled by Reuters also expect a second hike by the end of March. The shift followed hawkish comments from Governor Tiff Macklem about a higher inflation outlook driven by oil. What it means for you Every 0.25-point increase adds about $250 a year (roughly $21 a month) for each $100,000 of prime-linked debt, such as a variable-rate mortgage or HELOC. Fixed-rate holders are not hit directly, but renewals are being priced off higher bond yields. Savers may see HISA and...
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Whiskered Warriors: Tanzania’s Hero Rats Saving Lives on Two Fronts

 

A rat exits simulated earthquake rubble on July 29 at a facility in Morogoro, Tanzania, run by APOPO, a non-governmental organization that trains rats for lifesaving applications.


In Morogoro, Tanzania, a team of unlikely heroes is making a life-saving difference — African giant pouched rats trained to detect both landmines and tuberculosis. These so-called “hero rats,” developed by the non-profit APOPO, possess an extraordinary sense of smell that allows them to locate explosives buried underground and even identify TB bacteria in medical samples.

The training begins shortly after birth, using positive reinforcement to prepare the rodents for specialized missions. In minefields across countries like Angola and Cambodia, the rats can safely pinpoint explosives without triggering them, helping APOPO clear more than 50,000 landmines since 2014.

Inside laboratories, another group of rats works to combat tuberculosis — a disease that kills as many people daily as landmines do in an entire year. By sniffing sputum samples, they can detect TB cases often missed by conventional screening, especially in under-resourced areas.

With lifespans of nearly a decade and a training cost of about €6,000 each, these whiskered warriors are proving that even the smallest creatures can make an outsized impact in saving lives and building safer communities.


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