With three critical U.S. employment reports sidelined by the government shutdown this week, Thursday’s Challenger report—normally a second-tier, private-sector jobs survey—grabbed the spotlight. Bond yields tumbled when it revealed that October layoffs had shot through the roof, which is never reassuring unless you're in

💡See also: Mortgage Tidbits (below). The U.S. government shutdown officially became the longest in history on Wednesday, with no resolution in sight. Among other things, a prolonged shutdown cuts government spending, delays projects, derails federal payroll and kills a huge swath of data production. That is disinflationary and growth-negative,

💡See also: Mortgage Tidbits (below), including an OSFI loan-to-income update. The budget is out, and the Liberal Government is spending big this year... Because why stop now? "Investments" in economic rebuilding resulted in a projected deficit nearly double last year’s estimate. That aside, Ottawa's fiscal