The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that January typically ushers in a bump in real estate activity. Guest columnist Penelope Graham writes that instead, 2025 has kicked off with a sense of unease. Economic factors both north and south of the border are casting doubt on the direction for Canadian interest rates and that would shake the confidence of even a seasoned mortgage borrower. There is nothing bond investors dislike more than uncertainty, and our American neighbours are offering it up in spades. Both Canadian and American bond yields -- which underpin the cost of fixed mortgage rates -- have been trending higher since the fall, largely in response to incoming U.S. president Donald Trump's 25-per-cent tariff threats, as well as doubts that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its benchmark rate by as much as previously expected. An analysis written by BMO economists Douglas Porter and Robert Kavcic, says they "suspect the Bank of Canada would view the downside growth risk as much more meaningful to the outlook," and could respond by cutting the benchmark rate down to 1.5 per cent -- though that would be small comfort if Canadians are losing their jobs and cannot pay their mortgages in the first place.