Bruce Owens asked: Mortgage renewals are becoming a hot topic as Canadians weighing their home refinancing and mortgage renewal options continue to wrestle with a wealth of information about the economy, the housing markets in Canada and where interest rates are headed. The Canadian economy and world economies, in general, seem to be in the midst of turbulent times.Reports from the annual meeting of the Bank for International Settlements held this week in Basel, Switzerland indicate that rising inflation fuelled by rising energy and commodity prices is weighing heavily on the minds of the gathered officials from the central banks that are charged with overseeing their countries' monetary policies. Reuters News Agency reports that policymakers from the world's central banks are "on high alert to the dangers posed by rising inflation and slowing growth," [+]