All events
Most recently updated firstOct16
Mortgage Rates: One Week Below 6 Percent, Then Back Above 7
Mortgage rates began 2025 above 7 percent as the 10-year Treasury yield rose, then briefly fell below 6 percent in Freddie Mac’s survey on February 26, 2026. The drop triggered a refinancing surge, but it did not unlock broad purchase demand for long: higher oil prices, inflation readings and a bond sell-off lifted Treasury yields and pushed the weekly Freddie Mac rate back to 7.40 percent by October 8.
Oct14
Record Beef Prices: The Smallest Herd Since 1951, the Packer Probe and the Import Fix
Years of drought-driven herd liquidation reduced the U.S. cattle inventory from 89.3 million head in 2023 to 86.2 million on January 1, 2026, the lowest level since 1951. The May 2025 closure of the Mexican border to live cattle over New World screwworm further constrained feeder-cattle supply, although imports resumed in limited phases at Douglas in August and Santa Teresa in September 2026.
Oct14
The US–Canada Trade War: From the Fentanyl Tariffs to Section 338 and Dollar-for-Dollar Retaliation
The conflict began with Donald Trump's November 2024 threat to impose tariffs on Canada over fentanyl and border concerns, followed by IEEPA tariffs and Canadian retaliation in early 2025. A USMCA exemption sharply limited the reach of the fentanyl tariffs, but separate U.S. Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum, autos and lumber remained a major source of pressure; the Supreme Court later struck down the IEEPA tariffs.
