Normally, we’d preview the Bank of Canada’s next policy decision closer to the actual date. But all the relevant data has been published, so why wait? Unless the central bank scraps its story, it will leave the benchmark rate at 1.25 per cent on May 30. Canada’s dollar dropped half a cent against its U.S. counterpart on Friday, probably because new readings on inflation and retail sales suggest the economy is chugging along, not racing ahead at a pace that would alarm policy makers. The prices of financial assets linked to short-term interest rates put odds of an interest-rate increase next week at about 25 per cent. ... (full story)