What would a lifelong interest rate trader pick for his mortgage? We wanted to find out, so MLN spoke with Kevin Abarbanel last week. Abarbanel is a former head futures trader for BMO Nesbitt Burns. He's been trading short-term interest rate futures full-time for over three decades, longer

Canadians shouldn't “spend a lot of time thinking about the neutral rate,” BoC chief Tiff Macklem advised in his June 5 press conference. But it's okay for him to spend a lot of time thinking about it. In the Bank's own words, the neutral

If you're a builder who wants to get your phones ringing, try this trick: flaunt a mortgage rate beginning with '2'. And then brace for the hefty buydown. For brokers or retail mortgage reps, this strategy typically isn't possible. For developers clearing tens or

Starting August 1, first-time buyers eyeing new construction get a new trick to trim their payments: 30-year insured amortizations. But this magic has a price. Bumping the standard 25-year amortization up to 30 years jacks up the default insurance premium by 75 bps—assuming a high-ratio mortgage. On a 5%