Skip to main content

Featured

Questrade Just Went "Agentic" — What It Means For Your Trading Account

Published July 30, 2026 If you have money sitting in a Questrade account, the platform you log into is about to change more than it has in years. On July 30, Questrade unveiled its biggest product push since it eliminated stock trading commissions in 2019 — and this time, the headline feature isn't a lower fee. It's letting an AI assistant place trades for you. Questrade now manages roughly $100 billion in client assets, up from about $9 billion in 2019, and it's using that scale to go after Canada's increasingly crowded self-directed investing market. Here's what actually launched, and what it means before you touch any of it. What's actually new AI assistants can now trade on your behalf. Questrade is the first Canadian financial institution to officially connect client accounts directly to AI assistants like Claude and ChatGPT through something it calls Questrade MCP. In practice, that means you can ask an AI to pull up your account information, research a s...
Post a Comment
Read more

article

Labels

5 Things to Know Today: July 29, 2026

 

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

A fresh Iran missile attack has oil swinging again, the TSX just set another record, the Fed decides this afternoon, Microsoft and Meta report tonight, and your CPP deposit lands today. Here's what it means for your wallet.

1. Your CPP payment lands today

Wednesday, July 29 is a Canada Pension Plan deposit day — the seventh of twelve scheduled payments this year and the last one before the August cycle. If you're collecting the maximum retirement pension starting at 65, you'll see $1,507.65 land in your account. The average new beneficiary starting at 65 receives $877.01.

Your amount will match what you received in June: CPP is indexed only once a year, in January (this year's bump was 2.0%), so there's no mid-year change. The next adjustment arrives with the January 2027 deposit.

What it means for you: If your deposit is smaller than expected, it's almost always something individual — an early-start reduction, tax withholding, or a contribution gap — not a program-wide cut. Check My Service Canada Account if the numbers don't line up, and give it five to ten business days before reporting a payment as missing.

2. Oil is whipsawing again after an Iranian missile attack

Just two days after oil tumbled roughly 8% on hopes of a US-Iran de-escalation, Iran fired ballistic missiles at US forces in the Middle East overnight. The US said it intercepted all of them, but the news sent Brent crude up about 3.4% to roughly $87 a barrel and WTI to around $82 in early trading.

It's the second sharp reversal in a week: gas prices had just started easing after Monday's ceasefire optimism, and this attack puts that relief at risk.

What it means for you: If you were waiting for a dip to fill up, this week's whiplash argues for topping up sooner rather than later — pump prices track crude with a short lag, and the geopolitical backdrop remains genuinely unresolved.

3. The TSX just set its third straight record close

The S&P/TSX Composite closed at 35,749.70 on Tuesday, up 0.51%, extending its winning streak to three sessions. Tech names led the way — Celestica jumped 9.5% on strong earnings, Constellation Software rose 6.4%, and Shopify added another 2.7% — while banks and gold miners lagged. The index is up nearly 30% from a year ago.

What it means for you: If you hold Canadian equity funds in your RRSP or TFSA, this run has meaningfully padded your balance this year. It's a good moment to check whether your portfolio has drifted away from your target mix — not necessarily to sell, but to make sure a few winners haven't quietly become an outsized bet.

4. The Fed decides this afternoon — and it matters for your mortgage

The US Federal Reserve announces its rate decision at 2 p.m. ET today, with a hold at 3.50%–3.75% the base case, though markets are pricing in a meaningful chance of a surprise hike given oil-driven inflation pressure. Chair Kevin Warsh holds a press conference shortly after.

What it means for you: Fed moves ripple into the loonie and bond yields, which feed through to Canadian fixed mortgage rates ahead of the Bank of Canada's own decision on September 2. If you're renewing soon or hold US-dollar RRSP/TFSA positions, today's announcement is worth watching.

5. Microsoft and Meta report earnings tonight

Both companies release results after markets close today — Microsoft's fiscal Q4 and Meta's Q2 — with Apple and Amazon following Thursday. Wall Street's real focus isn't revenue; it's AI spending. Meta budgeted $125–145 billion for AI infrastructure this year and has used only a fraction of it so far, while Microsoft shares sit near a 52-week low heading into the print.

What it means for you: If your RRSP or TFSA leans on a Nasdaq-heavy or global equity ETF, expect some overnight volatility once these numbers hit — capex guidance, not the earnings beat itself, is what tends to move these stocks the next morning.

This post is for general information only and isn't financial, legal, or tax advice. Figures are sourced from Bank of Canada, Service Canada, TMX/S&P TSX, CNBC, and company investor relations pages as of July 29, 2026, and may change.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment