Big 6 banks are doing some spring cleaning of low-margin rates.

Lenders are usually quite competitive in April, but spreads (chart below) are getting too tight to hold the line. That's leading to modest jumps of 5 to 15 bps at the majors on a variety of fixed terms.

Vendor take-back mortgages (VTBs) are increasingly becoming the WD-40 of real estate deals—lubricating transactions that might otherwise seize up.

With home prices still elevated, rates hanging tough, tighter lending conditions, and fewer sales, free-and-clear sellers are more motivated to extend VTBs.

According to commercial real estate lawyer Patrick Gordon of Blakes, the VTB terms that sellers use most include:

Straight from the digital marketing trenches come two gobsmacking revelations from search marketing company Ahrefs:

1. Google's AI Overviews (AIOs) kill an average of 34.5% of clicks for most top-ranking pages (so far).
2. These are likely the highest click-through rates (CTRs) we will ever see again.

Translation: if you liked your Google CTR last year, take a screenshot—it’s now a relic, just like that old BlackBerry.

It's Good Friday, so let's kick off the weekend with some economic optimism that doesn't require divine intervention.

Trade tensions with the U.S. have thankfully simmered down, offering borrowers a somewhat improved inflation and interest rate outlook.

In fact, we've seen several rate-friendly developments in recent days: