Headlines

New court filings say Hudson's Bay has threatened to end a lease deal it has with a B.C. billionaire who wrote directly to a judge twice — against the retailer's advice — to try to persuade him to view her favourably, CBC.ca reported. In a 50-page package of materials Ruby Liu sent to Ontario Superior Court judge Peter Osborne, she positions her multimillion-dollar agreement to buy 25 leases held by the defunct retailer and its Saks Canada banners as being in jeopardy.

Unemployment remained at historic lows in the eurozone at the end of the second quarter, adding to signs of economic resilience and cementing the likelihood that the European Central Bank will keep holding interest rates in place, the Wall Street Journal reported. The jobless rate stood at 6.2% in June in the 20-member currency area, unchanged from a revised May estimate and matching historically low levels, European Union statistics showed Thursday. Unemployment decreased by 62,000 people over the month.

U.S. President Donald Trump gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal but was expected to issue higher final duty rates for most other countries as the clock wound down on his Friday deal deadline, Reuters reported. The extension, which avoids a 30% tariff on most Mexican non-automotive and non-metal goods compliant with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade, came after a Thursday morning call between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Inflation stayed steady in France, likely keeping the European Central Bank cautious over any further cuts to interest rates ahead, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 0.9% on year this month, according to EU-harmonized figures set out Thursday by the French statistics authority. That was the same rate of annual inflation as booked in June. Energy prices fell on year after a surge in July last year, while food inflation picked up a little pace, the figures showed.

The Bank of Japan left policy settings unchanged Thursday but raised its price outlook, fueling expectations for an interest-rate increase as a trade agreement with the U.S. helped clear some uncertainties, the Wall Street Journal reported. The central bank held its policy rate steady at 0.5%, where it has remained since its last hike in January. It also raised its price projections and maintained its view that inflation will stay near its 2% target in the coming years.

The risk of a severe and escalating global trade conflict has diminished since April and there is some clarity about what U.S. tariffs will look like, the Bank of Canada said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. But for the second quarter in a row, the bank did not issue regular economic forecasts, citing the uncertainty over the direction of U.S. trade policy. Instead it issued three scenarios as to what might happen. In the current tariff scenario, based on conditions on July 27, GDP grows by about 1% in the second half of 2025 and then picks up, hitting 1.8% in 2027.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose his threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law, the Associated Press reported. Trump had threatened the tariffs July 9 in a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But the legal basis of that threat was an earlier executive order premised on trade imbalances being a threat to the U.S. economy.

Brazil estimates that 35.9% of its exports to the U.S. by value will be hit by a steep 50% tariff under a new executive order by Donald Trump's administration, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Thursday, emphasizing efforts to reverse the levies on key goods such as coffee, Reuters reported. The estimate confirms earlier reporting by Reuters, with sources saying 44.6% of local products will be subject to the preexisting 10% tariff, while the remaining 19.5% will fall under tariffs the U.S. applies globally, ranging from 25% to 50%.

The United States has reached trade agreements with Thailand and Cambodia, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday night, after President Trump had threatened to end talks with the two nations if they did not agree to a cease-fire to halt their military conflict, the New York Times reported. Mr. Lutnick did not provide details of the new tariff rate. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, he said: “And you know what we did today? We made trade deals with Cambodia and Thailand.” He did not elaborate.