Once again, Canada's wheel of employment treated Bay Street estimates like satire. And this time, the Labour Force Survey surprise was on the downside. Here was the damage: * Estimated job change: -40,800 (est. +13,500 | prior 83,100) * Unemployment rate: 6.9% (est. 7.0% | prior 6.

The Bank of Canada didn't budge on rates today, but it made its intentions more transparent. At this point, it's leaning towards keeping rates steady or gently lowering them later. Team Macklem has no plans to reach for the rate-hike lever. The Bank's key

Those with variable-rate mortgages will need to keep their champagne on ice; the Bank of Canada isn't ready to pop the cork on lower rates just yet. Instead, it left its policy rate at its estimated "neutral" level of 2.75%. For mortgage shoppers, we'