Canada

Telecommunications company Mitel Networks is poised to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection imminently, Bloomberg News reported. The privately held Canadian company is currently engaged in intricate debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors, driven by persistent revenue declines and impending debt maturation. These details were disclosed by sources who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. Mitel’s debt instruments are experiencing unprecedented depreciation, with financial intermediaries effectively valuing the loans as negligible.

U.S. tariffs that took effect on Tuesday are threatening to derail Canada's fledgling economic recovery and will fuel a rise in consumer prices and unemployment, potentially triggering a recession, Reuters reported. Canada relies on the United States for 75% of its exports and a third of all imports. Its dependency on trade for economic growth leaves Canada vulnerable to a protracted trade war. The Canadian economy had started showing signs of improvement after several anemic quarters thanks to six consecutive interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, along with a doubling of duties on Chinese goods to 20%, sparking trade wars that could slam economic growth and lift prices for Americans still smarting from years of high inflation, Reuters reported. The tariff actions, which look set to upend nearly $2.2 trillion in annual U.S. trade with its top three trading partners, went live at 12:01 a.m. (0501 GMT).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday that his tariffs on Canadian imports were "a very dumb thing to do" and said Ottawa was striking back immediately at its closest ally, Reuters reported. Trudeau, who is stepping down at the end of the week, also accused Trump of wanting to ruin the Canadian economy. Trudeau, speaking hours after Trump launched a trade war against Mexico and Canada, announced immediate 25% tariffs on C$30 billion worth of U.S. imports. If need be, Canada will target another C$125 billion worth in 21 days' time, he said.

Company executives and foreign officials are scrambling to avert the consequences of another tight deadline from President Trump, who has threatened to put stiff tariffs on goods coming in from China, Canada and Mexico starting just after midnight Tuesday. The president describes this as an effort to pressure those countries to stop the flow of deadly drugs and migrants to the United States. But Mr.

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System booked a loss on its $325 million investment in Northvolt AB, the Swedish electric vehicle battery maker that filed for bankruptcy protection last year, Bloomberg News reported. “At the time we made the investments, Northvolt represented an attractive growth opportunity supported by several other of the world’s most respected investors,” a spokesperson for the pension manager said by email.

Canada's big bank CEOs are urging the federal government to remove internal trade barriers, evaluate tax policies and other regulation as the country's top lenders cautioned that tariff and trade risks are clouding the economic outlook, Reuters reported. The six big Canadian banks, which control more than 90% of the banking market and are among the biggest publicly listed companies in Canada, beat analysts' expectations for first-quarter profits but set aside large sums to shield against bad loans in an uncertain economy. The banks' CEOs delivered similar remarks on earnings calls this week.

Canada’s economic growth accelerated last quarter and momentum carried into the start of this year as the central bank’s forceful rate cuts boosted household spending, Bloomberg News reported. Advance data suggest gross domestic product rose 0.3% in January, following a 0.2% expansion in December that ended the fourth quarter with a stronger-than-expected increase at a 2.6% annualized pace, Statistics Canada said Friday. That’s the strongest growth since the second quarter, and a pickup from an upwardly revised 2.2% increase between July and September.

President Donald Trump said he expected tariffs planned to take effect on Canada and Mexico to go ahead next month following an initial delay to allow the countries more time to address his concerns over border security, Bloomberg News reported. “The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said Monday from the White House during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, would go into effect.

Canadian consumers tightened their grip on their purse strings after a holiday splurge, Bloomberg News reported. An advance estimate suggests receipts for retailers fell 0.4% in January, Statistics Canada said Friday. That would be the first contraction in seven months and follows a solid gain of 2.5% in December, which is the biggest jump since May 2022 and beat the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A federal sales tax holiday between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15 was likely a major driver of the robust spending, although the momentum didn’t appear to last in January.