It took some time, but mortgage rates are now responding to last week’s plunge in bond yields stemming from fears about systemic financial risk in the U.S. and Europe.

As of Monday, numerous mortgage lenders and brokerages had started cutting fixed mortgage rates, some by as much as 60 basis points, or 0.60%. That follows a roughly 70-bps plummet in 2- and 5-year Government of Canada bond yields (which typically lead fixed mortgage rates) in just a two-week period.

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Today we celebrate International Women's Day!  Here’s to celebrating the achievements of all the amazing women around the world. Wishing you a very Happy Women’s Day! 

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada is holding its key interest rate steady for the first time in a year while reiterating it is taking a wait-and-see approach with monetary policy.

The central bank says it has decided to hold its key rate at 4.5 per cent based on its assessment of recent economic data.

However, it is keeping the door open to further rate hikes if the economy or inflation run hotter than expected.

In January, the Bank of Canada announced it expected to maintain its key interest rate if economic developments stay broadly in line with its forecasts.

Recent data showed inflation slowed to 5.9 per cent in January while the economy posted no growth in the fourth quarter.

The Bank of Canada says it still expects the annual inflation rate to fall to around three per cent by mid-year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2023.

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Taxes… not the most exciting topic – we know!

However, if you live and work in Canada, you have to pay them!

You should know that if you pay tax in Canada, you must keep your Canadian tax records for some time after the end of the tax year.

This even applies if you are on a working holiday in Canada and move home when your visa expires.

In this guide, we will explain why you need to keep your tax records in Canada and help you to ensure you keep your tax records for the right period of time.

So…let’s get started!

How long do you have to keep tax records in Canada?

You must keep your Canadian tax records for six years. You must keep your records from the end of the last tax year that you filed a Canadian tax return for.

For example, if you file a tax return for the 2021 tax year, your tax records must be kept until the end of the 2027 tax year.

After delivering eight consecutive rate hikes over the past year, the Bank of Canada is finally expected to leave rates unchanged when it meets this week.

In a statement from its January meeting, the BoC said, “…if economic developments evolve broadly in line with the [Bank’s] outlook, Governing Council expects to hold the policy rate at its current level while it assesses the impact of the cumulative interest rate increases.”

That guidance came into question soon after, however, when labour growth surprised to the upside with the creation of 150,000 new jobs in January.

“That wasn’t part of the central bank’s plan,” noted Royce Mendes, Managing Director and Head of Macro Strategy at Desjardins. Not only that, but U.S. inflation numbers suggested a re-acceleration in consumer price growth south of the border.

“Then the data began to cooperate,” Mendes wrote in a research note, pointing to Canadian inflation coming in below expectations for the second straight month and fourth-quarter GDP coming in flat, well below BoC forecasts of 1.3% growth.

As a result, “there’s little doubt the Bank of Canada will hold rates steady” at its upcoming meeting on Wednesday, Mendes suggested.

“The statement accompanying the decision will again leave the door open to further rate hikes if the economy or inflation veer off this path,” he added. “But central bankers will be able to credibly argue that both inflation and the economy have made as much progress as predicted back in January, if not more.”

In a survey of 22 banks conducted by Bloomberg, all expect the Bank of Canada to leave rates unchanged this week.

Click Here To Read More - and stay tuned in for Wednesday.