Most Canadian mortgage shoppers seldom ponder how U.S. politics could shock their borrowing costs. Depending on how Tuesday's presidential election goes, they probably should. The bond market has been warning about this election's fiscal risks since September. It's all starting to look like

Borrowers are often told that different things drive fixed and variable mortgage rates. The Bank of Canada guides variable rates, mortgagors are told, while the bond market steers fixed rates. That's largely true, but fixed and variable rates are actually more siblings than distant cousins.

Canada's central bank has its pedal to the metal on monetary easing. Its cut today was a jumbo 50 beeper, which should yank the benchmark prime rate to levels (5.95%) last seen two years ago. The Bank's announcement reads like a doctor's note