Voyageur 61
Carney Meets Starmer as the Strait of Hormuz Stays Shut, and Good-Credit Canadians Are Starting to Miss Mortgage Payments.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Carney Meets Starmer as the Strait of Hormuz Stays Shut
PM Mark Carney sat down with UK PM Keir Starmer in London on Monday, with Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and with the economic damage it's doing, at the top of the agenda.
Roughly a fifth of the world's oil moves through the strait. Iran's closure has pushed crude prices up nearly 45% since the war started, and the ripple effects are already hitting airfare, grocery bills, and supply chains worldwide (Voyageur 57). Carney and Starmer condemned Iran's attacks and said they share "deep concern" about civilian casualties and the risk of things getting worse.
Canada isn't joining the U.S.-Israeli military operations, but Carney hasn't ruled out defensive action. Trump, meanwhile, has been pressuring allies to send warships to force the strait back open. The fact that newly appointed Canadian High Commissioner Bill Blair was in the room is an indication of how seriously Ottawa is treating the fallout.
Every day the strait stays shut, the price tag goes higher.
Read more: CBC News / UK Government
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Good-Credit Canadians Are Starting to Miss Mortgage Payments
New Equifax Canada data shows mortgage delinquencies are climbing fast with the borrowers you'd least expect.
Near-prime homeowners (credit scores between 621 and 680) saw a 31% jump in missed payments nationally over the past year. In Canada's five most expensive markets - Toronto, Vancouver, Brampton, Markham, and Oshawa - that number was 55.6%. Even prime borrowers in those cities are defaulting at a 32.5% higher rate than a year ago.
Current five-year fixed mortgage rates sit between 3.6% and 4%, roughly double the pandemic-era lows. As homeowners renew at higher rates, their monthly payments are blowing up and forcing their cash reserves to run dry. Equifax VP Kathy Catsiliras said even people with solid credit histories "may lack sufficient cash reserves to absorb increased mortgage payments."
The weakest borrowers have always struggled. When the middle starts cracking, maybe it’s a story to keep an eye on.
Read more: The Globe and Mail