After hours

Good afternoon, everyone. If you’ve spent any time on the World Wide Web this past week, you’ve likely run into a hot debate over one of summer’s most popular cooling beverages: iced coffee. The frenzy started after corporate recruiter Caitlin Wehniainen posted on TikTok that Gen Z is waltzing into job interviews with iced coffee in tow. To employers, it looks like the interview is “a stop on your list of errands for the day,” she says.

According to The Cut’s Maya Watson, the debate is about more than just coffee. It’s about how the corporate world still enforces rigid rules around professionalism that encourage conformity over competence. “This ‘decorum,’” she says, “often weeds out the exact disruptors we claim we want to hire.” TL;DR: Give Gen Z a break.

In today’s newsletter:

— Leah Golob

The Canadian trading day just got longer. Canadian stocks traditionally trade between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET on weekdays, but a new platform called CIX is extending those hours. Starting today, investors can trade domestic stocks on CIX from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CIX plans to expand to 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. later this year and eventually 23 hours a day. Not everyone is thrilled. TMX, which controls about half of Canada’s equity trading market, previously warned regulators that extended trading hours could threaten market stability if there’s not enough lead time to manage systemic risks. 

The trade war could be pushing down rents. The average asking rent across Canada has fallen 4.8 per cent over the past year, but rents in the 10 most tariff-exposed cities have fallen at triple the pace of the 10 least-exposed markets since January 2025, according to a new report. For instance, In Oshawa, Ont., a major manufacturing hub, asking rents for all property types fell 10.8 per cent. One possible reason? Job cuts, hiring freezes and reduced work hours are creating a lot of uncertainty, which encourages renters to stay put. Property owners, in turn, may feel pressure to lower rents. 

Bond yields keep climbing. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 5.12 per cent on Thursday, the highest since 2007, while the 30-year yield topped 5.45 per cent, the highest since 2002. The spikes line up with news that the Trump administration is mulling a 90-day ban on U.S. diesel exports to reduce inflation and gas prices ahead of the midterms. Since long-term fixed-rate loans typically follow government bond yields, higher yields could make it more expensive to take out a mortgage, line of credit, car loan or student loan. 

Mortgage brokers are favouring variable rates right now. Over the past month, the cheapest five-year fixed mortgage rates have climbed into the low-four-per-cent range, while the cheapest variable rates sit at 3.4 per cent. Even if the Bank of Canada hikes rates by a full percentage point in 2027, broker Ron Butler argues there’s a decent chance rates will move back toward the bank’s 2.5 per cent neutral rate. Another broker, David Larock, argues that bond markets are pricing in their worst fears about the war in Iran and inflation. That means if the war ends, fixed rates could fall significantly. “By signing a fixed-rate mortgage, Mr. Larock says you’re choosing to lock into the market’s worst fears, and as a result, the highest rate,” The Globe and Mail reports. 

Scammers are posing as grandchildren, calling to say they’ve been arrested or in a car accident and desperately need money, stat. Sometimes a second scammer joins the call, posing as a lawyer or law enforcement official, while the grandparent is told to keep everything secret to protect the grandchild from embarrassment or because there’s a court gag order. The grandparent is then advised a courier or bail bondsperson may show up to collect the cash. The damage is far from just financial. Victims report feeling scarred by the trauma, and one grandmother reported she’s now scared to live alone. This is as good a reason as any to go visit your grandparents in person.