Real rates went negative in April — Fed policy at 3.50–3.75% slipped below 3.81% inflation. Services drove the spike, not tariffs. CME FedWatch now prices a HIKE in September (18.6%) at higher odds than any cut. This issue traces Trump in Beijing and the Hormuz oil shock back to your Boston mortgage rate, plus the four-move investor playbook for what changes in your next deal.

Real rates went negative in April — Fed policy at 3.50–3.75% slipped below 3.81% inflation. Services drove the spike, not tariffs. CME FedWatch now prices a HIKE in September (18.6%) at higher odds than any cut. This issue traces Trump in Beijing and the Hormuz oil shock back to your Boston mortgage rate, plus the four-move investor playbook for what changes in your next deal.

The petrodollar arrangement that has anchored US borrowing costs for 50 years is loosening — France pulled 129 tonnes of gold from the NY Fed and Saudi Arabia joined a multi-currency oil settlement platform. Meanwhile Hormuz tankers stack up and March CPI spiked to 3.3%. This issue traces all of it back to what a Boston multifamily mortgage actually costs — and the May 5 rent control deadline that’s three weeks away.

Lead with the market hook Oil at $112, the 10-year Treasury up 3% in a single session, and zero chance of a Fed rate cut. Here is what this week's market chaos means for MA real estate buyers and investors.