Headlines

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Friday struck down ‌a $16.1 billion judgment against Argentina for ‌seizing control of state-owned oil company YPF in 2012, ​a victory for Argentine President Javier Milei as he tries to stabilize the country's long-strained economy, Reuters reported. Argentina had been seeking to overturn the $16.1 billion ⁠award in September 2023 by a lower court judge to former YPF shareholders Petersen ​Energia Inversora ​and Eton Park ​Capital Management for ‌alleged losses tied to YPF's nationalization.

As Toys "R" Us Canada prepares to ask a court for permission to put the business up for sale, it's closing at least two more stores, the Canadian Press reported. The chain has notified the landlords at the St. Laurent Centre in Ottawa and Woodgate Plaza in St. John's, N.L., that its stores there will soon close, its chief restructuring officer Neil Taylor said in court documents filed this week.

China's commerce ministry has initiated two counter-probes into U.S. ‌practices that hamper the flow of Chinese products into the United States, it said on Friday, refraining from immediate retaliation to U.S. measures announced earlier this month, Reuters reported. A trade truce between China and ​the U.S. has held since U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President ​Xi Jinping in October last year. Trump said earlier this week ⁠that he will visit Beijing in mid-May, as part of Washington's broader effort to ​reset relations in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Bank of Canada on Thursday predicted it would have "a tough job" tackling the structural changes ‌that it said were set to permanently alter the country's economic landscape, Reuters reported. Senior deputy ‌governor Carolyn Rogers also said the next five years could be as economically tumultuous as the last five. Increased ​trade protectionism by the United States, Canada's aggressive immigration controls and the adoption of artificial intelligence are here to stay, she said in a speech in Manitoba. The uncertainty fueled by U.S.

The Bank of Canada’s priority is to ensure that higher energy prices stemming from the war in Iran do not morph into an extended period of elevated inflation, the central bank’s No. 2 official said, the Wall Street Journal reported. Officials expect the recent increase in crude-oil and natural-gas costs to lead to higher inflation in the coming months, Senior Deputy Gov. Carolyn Rogers said. Headline inflation in Canada dropped below 2% in February, prior to the sharp jump in energy prices due to the Middle East conflict.

A record start to the year for emerging-market debt sales has largely ground to a halt as worries over the Iran war create havoc in the markets and push up borrowing costs, bankers and investors told Reuters, a situation that places ‌a number of nations in limbo, Reuters reported. The near-freeze underlines the precarious position for many emerging economies that until a month ago had enjoyed booming demand for ‌their debt, defying tariffs and other geopolitical tumult. One exception this month has been a fund-raising from oil-producing Angola, bolstered by the spike in crude.

U.K. consumer sentiment worsened this month as the Iran war prompted renewed fears over price rises and added to concerns about the strength of the British economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer confidence fell two points to minus 21 in March, the lowest point since April last year, according to research group GfK’s barometer, published Friday with the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions. Economists polled last week by The Wall Street Journal expected an even weaker reading of minus 24.

China is considering easing shareholding restrictions for some major investors, people with knowledge of the matter said, in a move aimed at broadening capital-raising options for commercial banks reeling ​from an economic slowdown, Reuters reported. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), the country's banking sector regulator, in January held a meeting with some bank representatives to discuss ‌the potential relaxation, said the people.

Australia's Federal Court has ordered Oztures Trading Pty Ltd, trading as Binance Australia Derivatives, to pay an AUD $10 million (about $6.9 million USD) penalty after the exchange admitted to exposing 524 retail investors to high-risk crypto derivative products without required consumer protections, Decrypt.com reported.

Most of the real estate insolvencies that have occurred in Canada have been development land where projects could not get off the ground and are not producing income. The recent insolvency of the Dixie Outlet Mall in Mississauga stands out because it is 91-per-cent leased to around 120 tenants, according to court documents, and thus is a large income-producing property, the Globe and Mail reported. The 35-acre Dixie Outlet Mall is owned by Toronto-based Slate Asset Management.