By the time Laura Pelletier took out a two-week loan in November at an equivalent annualized interest rate above 1,800%, she was already deep in debt, according to a Bloomberg analysis. Pelletier lives in Ottawa, but almost none of the lenders she used were licensed in her home province of Ontario, and the cost of the loans far surpassed what was allowed by regulators. Soon, the only way to keep current on one debt was to take out another. Over the course of two months she borrowed just under C$12,600 from 22 different unlicensed lenders, and owed them almost C$21,000.
Resources Per Country
- Anguilla
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada
- Cayman Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- Netherlands Antilles
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United States
- United States Virgin Islands
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The Bank of Canada's governing council has agreed it will have to rely on its own judgment more than usual on rate decisions, given heightened global uncertainty, according to minutes released on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The central bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.25% on March 18 and Governor Tiff Macklem said the governing council would look through the Iran war's immediate impact on inflation but would respond if inflation became persistent. The Iran war sent benchmark crude oil prices soaring and fanned concerns of a broader spike in inflation.
The workforce impact of Takeda’s recently announced reorganization has become clearer: The Japan-based pharma estimates the restructuring will affect around 634 U.S. employees, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice, BioSpace reported. Takeda began notifying employees on March 25, the same day it announced a business transformation, which includes streamlining corporate functions. However, the company noted in the WARN notice that the total number affected could change as staff pursue and accept redeployment opportunities across its global network.
Spark Networks Services GmbH, the operator of online dating platforms Christian Mingle, JDate and Zoosk, is seeking U.S. bankruptcy court recognition of its German insolvency case, Bloomberg Law reported. The company filed its U.S. case after a failed restructuring in 2024 and its primary lender and equityholder, MGG Investment Group, pulled funding in January, according to court documents filed Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Spark Networks is seeking relief under chapter 15 and aims to sell its assets while continuing operations.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The Mexican government announced measures on Thursday to support the country's motor transport industry, especially manufacturers and owners of heavy vehicles, Reuters reported. The program includes tax incentives for local producers and also seeks to protect and promote Mexico's motor transport industry against imports, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard told a press conference. "It has an initial budget of 2 billion pesos ($112.41 million) in tax deductions and 250 million pesos in direct investment," he added.
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