Canada's competition watchdog called for stronger merger review rules on Wednesday and recommended some 50 improvements to what it said was outdated antitrust legislation, Reuters reported. "Canada needs more competition. And Canadians need a modern and effective competition law to support that," the Competition Bureau said in a statement. Canadians have been left with fewer and pricier choices in everything from telecoms to banking after decades of industry consolidation, consumer advocates say. Soaring inflation has worsened the issue of affordability.
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Canada
Canada’s banking regulator seized control of SVB Financial Group’s branch in the country Sunday and said it will seek a legal order to wind up the operation, Bloomberg News reported. Peter Routledge, the country’s financial superintendent, “took this action to preserve the value of the assets held at the branch” after US regulators shut down the California-based parent bank on Friday, his office said in a statement. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke with banking executives and Bank of Canada officials on Sunday evening, and said the government continues to watch the situation.
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Loyalty Ventures Inc. filed for bankruptcy Friday, blaming its financial problems largely on its 2021 spinoff from its parent company, a move that it said left the new business with substantial debt and limited cash flow, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Dallas-based loyalty-programs operator filed for chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston and said it plans to sell its customer-rewards programs including its Air Miles Reward Program, a loyalty program popular in Canada, and its Europe-based BrandLoyalty program for grocers and other retailers.
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Restaurants Canada is proposing a solution to help small businesses, particularly restaurants, struggling with pandemic-related debt, NetNewsLedger reported. With the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan reimbursement deadline approaching, Restaurants Canada suggests extending the payback period for 36 months and implementing a scaled-down model for the forgivable portion to save thousands of restaurants and small businesses from declaring bankruptcy. “The program was a key tool to assist thousands of businesses who had begun waiving their white flag as a result of the pandemic.
The Bank of Canada needs more evidence to gauge if interest rates are high enough to tame inflation, in part because the economies of major trading partners are doing better than forecast, senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers said on Thursday, Reuters reported. She spoke a day after the central bank left its key overnight interest rate on hold at 4.50%, becoming the first major central bank to suspend its tightening campaign as inflation eases. The BoC has said it will hold rates where they are as long as inflation comes down as it forecast in January, hitting 3% at about mid-year.
The Bank of Canada kept interest rates unchanged for the first time in nine meetings, saying it’s prepared to hike again if the economy veers off its forecast course, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem made good on a January pledge to hold the benchmark overnight rate at 4.5% on Wednesday, the first pause among major central banks that was expected by both markets and economists. Officials kept the door open to further rate increases, however, reiterating that they’re willing to raise borrowing costs again if necessary.
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At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with his job as a delivery driver bringing plenty of overtime and the cost to borrow at record lows, James Kebe went on a spending spree. He leased a boat and an all-terrain vehicle, and when his bank offered him a bigger line of credit, he maxed it out. Then interest rates started rising at their fastest pace in generations. And because Kebe’s line of credit had a floating rate, his monthly payments soared, too.
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Retail giant Nordstrom will exit the Canadian market, shutting down its 13 stores in the country amid stagnant sales, the company said. The move will cut approximately 2,500 jobs, the Washington Post reported. Nordstrom’s decision makes it the second major American retailer to wind down operations in Canada this year. Bed Bath & Beyond, which has come close to filing for bankruptcy in the United States, had in February cited insolvency to close its Canada stores, according to court documents. Court filings by Nordstrom in Canada reveal a dismal picture.
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Canadian manufacturing activity expanded at a faster pace in February as measures of output and new orders both rose to nine-month highs, while inflation pressures continued to ease, data showed on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.4 in February from 51.0 in January, posting its highest level since July. Before January's reading, the index had been below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction for five consecutive months.
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The Canadian economy unexpectedly stalled in the final three months of 2022, but likely rebounded in January, data showed on Tuesday, a result that backs up the Bank of Canada's aim to keep interest rates on hold at its next policy meeting in March, Reuters reported. Annualized fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was flat versus the previous quarter, Statistics Canada said, ending a streak of five consecutive quarterly increases. It was far below analysts' median forecast for a 1.5% increase.
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