Morning News Call - Canada, July 17

1. The sharp escalation in Middle East tensions pushed Brent crude to multi-year highs of $105–$107 per barrel, reviving inflation expectations. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield surged to 4.94%, its highest level since 2023, while the implied probability of a rate hike at the September 16 policy meeting to the 3.75%–4.00% range rose from 48.4% one month ago to 67.1%. 2. Rising oil prices and rate-hike expectations weighed on most risk assets, but historical data suggest that this is more likely to be a short-term adjustment than a reversal of the broader trend. Bitcoin fell 3.36% this week and the S&P 500 declined 1.64%, while gold slipped just 0.96%. Outside the energy sector, markets are largely repricing ahead of next week's expected rate decision. 3. PoolX has recently introduced a long-term holding bonus, significantly improving effective returns for users who maintain assets on the platform over time. The core participation rules remain unchanged; the update adds an additional boost to the effective locked amount for users with qualifying long-term holdings. In the example provided, a user locking 1000 ETH would see the estimated reward increase from 1666.67 USDT to 2500 USDT, or about 50%, while the reference APR rises from 4.93% to 7.40%. Assets to watch: BTC, ETH, SOL, Brent crude, WTI crude, gold, 10-year U.S. Treasuries, RAY, ZEC, LEN, CCL.