North America

Beyond the common challenges like currency fluctuations and supply shocks that keep the world's central bankers up at night, in Mexico there is an additional foe for those conjuring monetary policy: protection rackets, Reuters reported. Extortion has become a massive problem in Mexico, with powerful drug cartels exerting deep influence over swathes of the country. Keen to establish new revenue streams, these groups have been turning to extorting businesses by forcing them to pay protection money. One unintended consequence: inflation.

The International Monetary Fund on Monday named Jamaican Finance Minister Nigel Clarke to a top post at the agency, after the official spearheaded fiscal reforms in the Caribbean nation, Reuters reported. Clarke, nominated by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, is set to replace Antoinette Sayeh as one of the IMF's three deputy managing directors at the end of October.

China on Tuesday accused Canada of protectionism after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government imposed a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles, matching U.S. duties on Chinese EVs, the Associated Press reported. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the tariffs would disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains, severely impact China-Canada economic and trade ties and damage the interests of enterprises in both countries. “China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposes this,” it said in a statement.

Elliott Investment Management is the leading bidder in a U.S. court-ordered auction of the parent company of Venezuelan-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp., Bloomberg News reported. Elliott was competing against bidders including independent refiner Vitol Group and Canadian miner Gold Reserve Inc., which was working on a joint bid with billionaire Carl Icahn’s CVR Energy. Elliott has now been granted exclusivity to negotiate a deal. The auction process has been long and winding, and Elliott’s emergence as the top contender doesn’t necessarily mean it will end up with the asset.

The Canadian arbitrator appointed to resolve a messy railroad labor dispute to protect the North American economy has ordered employees at the country’s two major railroads back to work so both can resume operating, the Associated Press reported. Saturday's order means Canadian National will be able to continue operating the trains it restarted on Friday morning just over a day after it locked out workers. But Canadian Pacific Kansas City likely won't be able to restart its operations before 12:01 a.m. Monday, when workers were ordered to return.

Yuzhou Group Holdings Co. filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy Thursday in New York, a move by the defaulted property developer to seek US court recognition for its offshore debt restructuring and ward off litigation, Bloomberg News reported. The Chinese builder, which failed to pay $2.9 billion of dollar notes with interest as of the end of 2023, is undergoing restructuring in Hong Kong and Cayman Islands. Read more.

A union filed a strike notice against Canadian National Railway Co. just hours after trains began rolling again on Friday, creating a new obstacle in a labor dispute that has upended North American supply chains, Bloomberg News reported. The Teamsters union told the Montreal-based railway that it plans to withdraw the services of its roughly 6,500 members at 10 a.m. Toronto time on Monday if there’s no agreement on a new contract. Thousands of workers at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.

Canada's retail sales dropped in June, data showed on Friday, as consumers continued to feel the impact of high interest rates and cut back on discretionary purchases, Reuters reported. Retail sales, which comprise local sales of vehicles, clothing, furniture, food and beverages among other items, dropped 0.3% on a monthly basis, less than last month's 0.8% decline. The sales were pulled down primarily as fewer customers bought vehicles and automotive parts, but also by lower purchases of personal care products and sporting goods, Statistics Canada said.

Destiny Pharma Plc, a British biotech company chaired by City veteran Nigel Rudd, has appointed insolvency practitioners after failing to secure a rescue deal, Bloomberg News reported. Destiny Pharma, which earlier this month delisted from the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market, had been unable to secure a licensing partner to fund clinical trials for its most hopeful antibiotic product. It lodged an application to appoint administrators in the High Court, a form of insolvency, on Wednesday.

PwC China has informed its clients it expects a six-month business ban by Chinese authorities as early as September as part of punishment for its audit of collapsed property developer Evergrande, the Financial Times reported. The ban would prevent it from signing off on financial results and initial public offerings and from conducting other regulated activities, the report stated, citing multiple clients. PwC has been under scrutiny for its role in auditing Evergrande since the troubled property developer was accused in March of a $78-billion fraud, leading to an exodus of clients.