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The Loonie Just Hit a 14-Month Low — Here's What It's Costing You

   Saturday, July 25, 2026 The Canadian dollar has slid to its weakest level since April 2025, and speculators are betting it has further to fall. Here's why it's happening and what it actually means for your wallet. If you've bought anything in U.S. dollars lately — a flight, an Amazon.com order, a hotel for a Florida trip — you may have noticed the exchange rate isn't doing you any favours. The Canadian dollar touched 1.4248 per U.S. dollar (about 70.2 U.S. cents ) last week, its weakest level in 14 months, before steadying closer to 1.41 . It's not just a bad week. Currency speculators have piled into bets against the loonie so aggressively that the Canadian dollar has overtaken the Japanese yen as the most heavily shorted major currency in the world, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Net short positions against the CAD hit roughly US$12.5 billion — the largest bearish bet on the loonie since December 2024. Why the loonie is ...

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Inferno in Tai Po: 13 Dead as Hong Kong High-Rises Burn

 

                                        Hong Kong fire horror: 13 dead as blaze engulfs high-rise tower blocks

A devastating fire tore through multiple high-rise residential towers in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday, leaving 13 people dead and dozens injured. The blaze erupted at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, which consists of eight blocks and nearly 2,000 apartments. Authorities reported that the flames spread rapidly across bamboo scaffolding and construction netting surrounding the buildings, sending thick smoke and towering flames into the sky.

The fire was first reported around 2:50 p.m. local time and quickly escalated to a No. 5 alarm, the highest severity rating in Hong Kong. Firefighters battled the inferno late into the night, rescuing trapped residents and evacuating approximately 700 people to temporary shelters. Tragically, one firefighter was among the dead, and several others were hospitalized with injuries.

Witnesses described hearing a loud explosion before the fire spread uncontrollably. Residents watched in horror as flames engulfed entire blocks, with some unable to escape. “My wife is still inside,” sobbed one elderly man, highlighting the desperate situation faced by many families.

The Hong Kong government has pledged a full investigation into the cause of the disaster, while emergency teams continue to search for survivors. The tragedy has shaken the city, raising urgent questions about fire safety in densely populated housing estates and the risks posed by construction scaffolding during renovations.

This catastrophic blaze stands as one of Hong Kong’s deadliest residential fires in recent years, leaving the community mourning and demanding stronger safeguards to prevent such tragedies in the future.


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