The market intelligence we work in.
Market commentary on private credit, real estate, private equity, interest rates and more — from Alts Insider, a collaborative market intelligence and investor education project in which Two Sevens Capital is a platform partner. We read it to keep our own view of the market current, and we publish it here so you can see what we read. Each piece is market commentary as of its date, and is not updated for later events. It is not an offer or investment advice.
Browse by theme →Monday Market Minute | Oct 19, 2026
CREA's September data showed the national home price index down 0.4% on the month and 3.4% on the year, and the association cut its 2026 sales forecast a third time to −5.2%. Brent futures settled at $109.86 on October 16, the highest since May 19, ahead of September CPI and the October 28 Bank of Canada decision.
Monday Market Minute | Oct 12, 2026
Canada's September labour force survey reported a loss of 68,000 jobs and a participation rate of 64.8%, the lowest since December 1997 outside 2020. The loonie hit its weakest level since at least mid-July and the WCS discount its widest since 2023.
Monday Market Minute | Oct 05, 2026
US import bans on roughly US$967 million of Canadian goods took effect September 29, the same day July GDP printed flat and the 10-year Government of Canada yield reached 3.99%. The TSX fell 2.85% in September, while CBRE reported the largest quarterly drop in industrial availability in five years.
Q3 2026: Oil, Rates, and the Lost Carve-Out — Canadian Private Markets in Review
A quarterly review of Canadian private markets
ALTS INSIDER | September 2026 Market Pulse
The Fed hikes, the Bank of Canada warns that upside inflation risks have increased, oil climbs past $100, and jobs turn negative as the tariff wall goes up.
The Rate Turn
The Fed raised rates on September 16, 2026, and Canadian yields and fixed mortgage rates rose as markets priced a possible Bank of Canada hike. How to read the turn — and what it means for floating-rate private credit, MICs and real-estate valuations.
Monday Market Minute | Sep 28, 2026
Governor Macklem said persistent US tariffs could halve fourth-quarter growth to below 1%, the two-year Government of Canada yield reached 3.40%, and CFIB's long-term index fell to 47.9. Avenue Living Core Trust extended its redemption delay as US import bans approach on September 29.
Monday Market Minute | Sep 21, 2026
The Federal Reserve raised rates 25 basis points to 3.75–4.00% on September 16, its first hike in more than three years. August CPI held at 3.0%, the Bank of Canada's deliberations flagged a possible policy response to energy spillover, and markets priced the October 28 decision as a coin flip.
Monday Market Minute | Sep 14, 2026
The US issued five new Section 338 proclamations on September 8, including import bans from September 29 and stacking on Section 232 duties, as Canada's counter-tariffs took effect. Brent futures closed above $100 and the two-year Government of Canada yield rose to 3.35%.
Monday Market Minute | Sep 07, 2026
The Bank of Canada held at 2.25% on September 2 but said upside risks to its inflation forecast have increased. August employment fell 42,000 with wage growth slowing to 2.0%, while renewed tanker strikes pushed Brent futures toward $97.
Monday Market Minute | Aug 31, 2026
Ottawa announced counter-tariffs on C$27.6 billion of US imports and a C$7.5 billion support package, while Q2 GDP grew 3.3% annualized and Q1 was revised positive. The TSX set a record close of 36,957.63 on August 25.
ALTS INSIDER | August 2026 Market Pulse
Canada–US talks collapse and 50% tariffs take effect, Q2 growth surprises to the upside, and pension results show private-equity marks lagging public markets.
The Tariff Without a Carve-Out
On August 22, 2026, 50% US Section 338 duties on listed Canadian goods took effect after talks collapsed. Why the loss of the CUSMA exemption matters for private credit, private equity and real assets with cross-border exposure.
Monday Market Minute | Aug 24, 2026
Canada suspended trade talks with the US on August 21 and 50% Section 338 duties on listed Canadian goods took effect August 22, with no CUSMA exemption. July CPI rose to 3.0% and lenders lifted fixed mortgage rates.
Monday Market Minute | Aug 17, 2026
Canada's large pension plans reported first-half results in which private-equity returns trailed public markets, led by La Caisse's private equity at −4.3% against an 8.0% benchmark. Second-quarter consumer insolvencies reached 37,523, the highest quarterly total since 2009.
Monday Market Minute | Aug 10, 2026
Canada added 75,000 jobs in July against a consensus of roughly 15,000, pulling unemployment to 6.4%, the lowest since July 2024. Toronto and Vancouver benchmark prices kept falling year-over-year, and national asking rents declined for a 22nd straight month.
Monday Market Minute | Aug 03, 2026
The FOMC held at 3.50–3.75% with three members dissenting in favour of a hike, and the Bank of Canada's deliberations warned that elevated oil risks broadening inflation. Canada's Q2 advance estimate came in near 3.4% annualized, well above the Bank's July estimate.
ALTS INSIDER | July 2026 Market Pulse
The oil premium returns, Washington uses a tariff statute for the first time with no CUSMA exemption, and the Bank of Canada holds for a sixth straight meeting while warning the rebound could fade.
Monday Market Minute | Jul 27, 2026
The US invoked Section 338 for the first time, signing an additional 50% tariff on listed Canadian goods with no CUSMA exemption, as Section 122 expired and a CUSMA-exempt Section 301 duty took effect. June CPI eased to 2.8%, with core trim at 1.8% and median at 1.9%.
Monday Market Minute | Jul 20, 2026
The US–Iran memorandum broke down and the Strait of Hormuz was declared closed, lifting Brent futures to $88.10 from $71.57 at the start of July. The Bank of Canada held at 2.25% for a sixth straight decision and projected 2026 growth of 0.7%.
Monday Market Minute | Jul 13, 2026
Canada's June labour force survey adds 18,000 jobs and pulls unemployment to 6.5%, extending a spring recovery that has buried the technical-recession narrative. Gold slips for a sixth week as the war premium fades, while the Section 122 tariff cliff looms on July 24.
Monday Market Minute | Jul 06, 2026
Section 122 nears its July 24 statutory sunset while a proposed Section 301 successor advances, the CUSMA review deadline lapses without extension, and the TSX prints a record above 35,000 on an unwinding oil shock and a growth rebound.
The Technical Recession That Wasn't
A data-literacy case study: Q1 2026 Canadian GDP read as 0.0% quarterly, -0.1% annualized, or +0.1% by industry—all correct—before April data flipped the narrative within a month.
Q2 2026: Shock, Scare, and Reversal — Canadian Private Markets in Review
A quarterly review of Canadian private markets
ALTS INSIDER | June 2026 Market Pulse
The recession scare reverses, the oil premium collapses, and the Bank of Canada holds for a fifth straight meeting while housing quietly finds a floor.
Monday Market Minute | Jun 29, 2026
Oil round-tripped back to pre-war levels last week and energy inflation began to reverse, yet the loonie kept sliding to roughly 1.42 — a clean break from petrocurrency norms and a reminder that FX follows rate differentials, not just crude.
Monday Market Minute | Jun 22, 2026
The US and Iran signed a framework to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, beginning to collapse the oil war premium. Hours later, May CPI printed 3.2% — the highest headline since December 2023 — capturing the peak energy passthrough the Bank of Canada cannot ease away.
Monday Market Minute | Jun 15, 2026
The Bank of Canada holds at 2.25% for a fifth straight meeting and, for the first time, publishes a summary of Governing Council deliberations. Meanwhile a US appeals court stays the ruling against Section 122, keeping a tariff a court called unlawful in force past the July cliff.
Monday Market Minute | Jun 08, 2026
Canadian employment rose 88,000 in May, the first monthly gain since November 2025, pulling unemployment down to 6.6% and softening the recession narrative just ahead of the June 10 Bank of Canada decision.
Monday Market Minute | Jun 01, 2026
Q1 2026 GDP printed flat — 0.0% quarterly, -0.1% annualized — triggering 'technical recession' headlines. The label is a data-literacy trap; the real signal is a fifth straight quarter of falling business investment.