Canada

Canada's December retail sales slightly beat expectations as people spent more on cars, food and beverages, and at supermarkets during the holiday season, data showed on Thursday, but likely declined at the start of the year, Reuters reported. Retail sales grew by 0.9% in December from November, more than a forecast for a 0.8% gain, from a flat reading in November, which was upwardly revised from -0.2% previously, Statistics Canada said. January's preliminary estimate pointed to a 0.4% decline on the month, Statscan said.

Canadian inflation decelerated more sharply than anticipated in January, offering comfort the central bank’s past rate increases continue to work through the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 2.9% in January from a year earlier, following December’s gain of 3.4%, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. That marked the lowest level since June, and undershot the 3.3% advance economists were expecting.

Canada's annual inflation rate slowed significantly more than expected to 2.9% in January and core price measures also eased, data showed on Tuesday, bringing forward bets for an early interest rate cut, Reuters reported. It was the first time in seven months that headline inflation has dipped below 3%. That prompted money markets to hike bets for a rate cut in April to 58% from 33% before the figures were published. The Bank of Canada's next policy announcement is March 6. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast inflation to tick down to 3.3% from 3.4% in December.

Assuming Laurentian University’s new 2024-2029 strategic plan is approved by its board of governors later this week at the governing body’s Feb. 16 meeting, the university will have fulfilled one of its major legal obligations following insolvency, Sudbury.com reported. Following 22 months of insolvency restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Laurentian exited creditor protection in late 2022. As part of the plan of arrangement approved by its creditors, Laurentian was obligated to create a new strategic plan with the help of consultants.

The Bank of Canada is likely to wrap up its quantitative tightening program as early as April, sooner than policymakers had previously indicated, according to RBC Capital Markets strategists, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank under Governor Tiff Macklem has been shrinking its balance sheet for about two years, withdrawing the extraordinary stimulus it provided during the worse phase of the Covid-19 shock.

Canadian home sales rose for the second month, with buyers rushing back into the market as speculation builds that prices will rise if the Bank of Canada lowers interest rates later this year, Bloomberg News reported. The number of homes that traded hands rose 3.7% in January from the month before, according to data Wednesday from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Prices continued to soften, with the seasonally adjusted benchmark falling 1.2% to C$717,800 ($529,500), the fifth straight monthly decline.

An acrimonious legal battle over the fate of the insolvent Harbour Grace shipyard ended in a St. John's courtroom Monday morning after a judge approved the sale of the yard to fishing industry executive Blaine Sullivan, CBC.ca reported. The deal is expected to close later this month. Sullivan has committed to making investments into the yard and protecting the workforce as he tries to return the business to profitability.

Members of the Bank of Canada's (BoC) governing council were concerned about cutting borrowing costs too soon amid persistent inflation when they decided to keep the key overnight rate on hold on Jan. 24, minutes published on Wednesday showed, Reuters reported. The policy-setting governing council was "particularly concerned about the persistence of inflation and did not want to lower interest rates prematurely," the minutes said. The Bank of Canada (BoC) aims to keep inflation at 2% and has increased its key overnight rate 10 times in 17 months to a 22-year high of 5% to tame inflation.

A company owned by Blaine Sullivan, a well-known leader in Newfoundland and Labrador's fishing industry, has emerged as the preferred bidder for the insolvent shipyard in Harbour Grace, CBC.ca reported. The advisory firm that's monitoring the court-supervised restructuring and sales process, PricewaterhouseCoopers, revealed in documents published this week on its website that it supports a sale of the yard to Green Skiff Investments.

A group of local landlords with hundreds of rental buildings in Ontario owe more than $144 million as they grapple with a “severe liquidity crisis” that has prompted them to seek creditor protection, the Hamilton Spectator reported. Between them, Aruba Butt, Dylan Suitor and Ryan Molony have 11 related corporations drowning in debt and less than $100,000 in cash as they make their bid under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), according to court filings.