With the world's biggest bond market on holidays, Canadian yields were left to their own devices on Friday. Here’s what was lighting a fire under Canada’s 5-year yield.

Treasuries took a dive Thursday after declining U.S. unemployment caught markets off guard. Canadas then tagged along for some of the move lower (falling prices = higher yields).

Here's more on what shifted yields on Thursday, and in which direction...

After being closed on Tuesday, Canada's bond market had to play catch-up to the U.S. market. Here's what jostled our 5-year yield, and in which direction:

Changes to CMHC's MLI Select program in the last year have "reduced the attractiveness" of the agency's multi-unit financing, relative to conventional construction financing. So says Versabank CEO David Taylor, who's seen applications for the product "dry up" at his institution.

"Until earlier this year, there was enough demand for CMHC multi-unit financing," Taylor told MLN in a recent interview. "[Since] CMHC changed the rules...our real estate developers don't find it attractive anymore to pay CMHC fees."

He points to four CMHC rule shifts in particular:

On April 8, stock market anxiety hit an extreme that's seldom been equalled.

Wall Street's VIX (a.k.a. "fear index") spiked above 52, the highest on record apart from the #GFC# (2008-09) and pandemic (2020).

Yet here we are, a mere 12 weeks later, watching the S&P 500 smash record highs. It's like nothing happened. But, in fact, it's one of the fastest recoveries from a 20% drop in S&P 500 history.

Ok, but what does this have to do with mortgages?

Glad you asked.

What happened this spring is a textbook example of how qualified, savvy, well-prepared investors use credit to manufacture wealth.

Credit is liquidity, and liquidity is power. Pre-arranged financing (e.g., a HELOC) gives Canadians the option to leverage a dead asset, home equity, to boost net worth the instant that opportunity strikes.

Now, what you're about to read is not a playbook for the masses (check the disclaimer), but for a rare breed with a long time horizon, strong financials and market conviction, it deserves serious thought.

Well, that didn't take long. Turns out the quickest route to a Canadian policy reversal is a Trump tweet and a whiff of recession.

After Trump threatened new tariffs over Canada’s digital services tax (DST), Carney pulled the plug faster than a fire marshal at a pyro expo.

Canada’s bond market yawned at the drama, with yields unchanged until a midday dip in Treasury yields pulled them lower.

Here's more on what steered our 5-year yield Monday, and in which direction...