10  BIS Review 101/2008  BIS Review 101/2008  11  Recent economic developments The ongoing turbulence in global financial markets has been one of three major developments affecting the Canadian economy – the others being the protracted weakness in the U.S. economy and the sharp changes in the prices of certain commodities, energy in particular.
The borrower needs answers to a number of questions such as: “What will happen to my mortgage costs if ...?”. This “if” can be related to family matters and external economic events, including interest-rate increases.