Canada

Canada’s annual inflation rate accelerated more than expected in January, data from Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday, and could continue to rise in coming months compared with the low levels reached a year ago during the first COVID-19 lockdowns, Reuters reported. Canada’s inflation rate accelerated to 1.0% in January on higher durable good and gasoline prices, up from a year-on-year increase of 0.7% in December, and beating analyst expectations of 0.9%.

Ontario's post-secondary minister says an investigator probing the financial problems at Laurentian University will issue a final report in six to eight weeks, the CBC reported. The northern Ontario school filed for creditor protection earlier this month amid what it called "unprecedented" challenges after a decade of financial strain. The Sault Ste. Marie MPP and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano, says the report will help the government decide next steps when it comes to the university.

Canadian insolvency filings hit a 20-year low last year as government financial support offset the shock and economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19, Advisor's Edge reported. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy said on Friday that there were 99,244 consumer bankruptcies and proposals along with business bankruptcies in 2020, down 30% from the prior year.

Laurentian University owes three Canadian banks C$91 million ($71 million), according to documents in a bankruptcy filing that one analyst says will be a test case for how the country’s schools deal with growing financial pressures, Bloomberg News reported. The Sudbury, Ontario-based university requested court protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on Monday, citing widening deficits, declining enrollment and costs related to the pandemic.

The largest shareholder in high-end mall owner Macerich Co. sold its entire holding for nearly $500 million when the stock soared after being touted on Reddit, Bloomberg News reported. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan sold 24.56 million shares on Wednesday at an average price of $20.25 a share, according to details in an amended 13D. The Canadian fund had owned 16.4% of the company, according to data complied by Bloomberg.

American affiliates of Canadian restaurant business Yatsen Group sought Chapter 15 recognition in Delaware bankruptcy court, saying COVID-19 has ravaged its business and left its locations unable to pay rent, Law360 reported. Yatsen Group of Companies Inc., SAR Real Estate Inc. and 36 affiliates filed their petition late Monday, while a foreign, main case proceeds in Canada.

President Biden’s revocation of a permit for TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline is raising pressure on Canada’s energy industry to seek new markets for oil and gas, its top export, the Wall Street Journal reported. Biden revoked the Keystone XL permit last Wednesday, hours after taking office, effectively shutting down a 12-year, cross-border project that would have carried 830,000 barrels a day from Alberta to Nebraska and eventually to refiners on the Gulf Coast. His executive order, which fulfilled a campaign promise, cited concerns about climate change.

Canada’s unemployment rate in December was revised to 8.8% from 8.6% on Monday, while the net decline in jobs for the month was amended to 52,700 from 62,600, as Statistics Canada completed a historic review of its labor force data, Reuters reported. The revision, undertaken to ensure the data was aligned with recent population and geographical boundary estimates, had “virtually no effect” on employment estimates for the pandemic period of March to December 2020, the agency said.