Last week proved once again that the world economy has a few fickle elements to it.

Canadian interest rates stayed flat, Harper spoke from the U.K. stating that his friends in the Eurozone need to really solve their problems and Spain received a bailout of sorts.

On Tuesday of last week’s rate announcement the Bank of Canada kept its interest rate flat while keeping hints that rates were going to climb under wraps. The bank said that, “The outlook for global economic growth has weakened in recent weeks and that some of the risks around the European crisis are materializing and risks remain skewed to the down side.” That being said, this is great news for Canadian mortgagors holding onto their variable rates while the next report is due July 17th.

Stephen Harper was in England during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and spoke on camera with Peter Mansbridge stating that his friends in the EU are “running out of runway and that the world can’t constantly deal with the same issues over and over as they need to look at the long term stability as opposed to short term solutions,” pertaining to the fact that they need to get their economic affairs under order.

Greek elections are staving off any sort of problem solving there for now, but Spain recently received a rescue package of 100 billion Euros (C$125 billion) to help the country’s banks and keep the 17 country Eurozone from breaking apart.

Spain is the fourth largest and largest European country to ask for help and its admission for help comes after months of market concern about its ability to pay its own way. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have already received packages and many question how much more is required.

These overseas issues are keeping our interest rates here at home extremely low and keeping our housing industry healthy. There are a few pockets in the country that are more prone to some issues as we hear about Toronto’s condo market and Vancouver’s overpriced home values, but once again we in Alberta are feeling very optimistic as we come off one of our strongest housing markets in years, one wonders if this is time for caution or time for excitement – tough to tell from the lessons from not so long ago.

Jean-Guy Turcotte is an Accredited Mortgage Professional with Dominion Lending Centres-Regional Mortgage Group and can be contacted for appointments and questions at 403-343-1125 or emailed to jturcotte@regionalmortgage.ca.