U.S. control of Venezuela's oil exports has ensnared barrels that had been servicing debt to China, lining up another potential showdown between the two superpowers that could further complicate the South American country's path out of default, Reuters reported. Around a tenth ​of Venezuela's $150 billion foreign debt pile is estimated to be loans from China that the OPEC member was paying in oil cargoes — until the U.S. seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this ‌month. Debt experts said the ramifications of China's claim on the cargoes and any clash with the U.S.
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The U.S. is in talks with Chevron Corp., other crude producers and the world’s biggest oilfield service providers about a plan to quickly revive output in Venezuela at a fraction of the estimated $100 billion cost for a complete rebuilding, Bloomberg News reported. Oilfield contractors such as SLB Ltd., Baker Hughes Co. and Halliburton Co. would focus their initial efforts on repairing or replacing damaged or outdated equipment and refreshing older drilling sites, according to senior administration officials who asked not to be identified discussing internal plans.
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President Donald Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs against all its exports to the US if it makes a trade deal with China, escalating tensions between the U.S. and its northern neighbor, Bloomberg News reported. Trump, referring to Prime Minister Mark Carney as “Governor Carney,” said the Canadian leader was “sorely mistaken” for opening up his country to more business from China, including a recent deal allowing an increase in Chinese electric vehicle exports.
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The ​Canadian dollar extended its weekly gain against the U.S. dollar on Friday as ‌the greenback posted broad-based declines and domestic data showed that retail sales rose in November, Reuters reported. The loonie was trading 0.5% higher at 1.3715 per U.S. dollar, or 72.91 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since January 2 at 1.3705. For the week, the currency was ‌up 1.5%, its biggest weekly gain since May. Investor angst in the currency ​markets this week over intensifying geopolitical tensions has largely been borne by the U.S. dollar.
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Air Antilles, a regional French airline serving the Caribbean islands, has officially filed for bankruptcy protection (cessation de paiements) at the Pointe‑à‑Pitre mixed commercial court in Guadeloupe, after failing to meet financial obligations, Aeromorning reported. In an internal letter to employees dated Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, Louis Mussington, Chairman of Air Antilles’ board of directors (and President of the Territorial Authority of Saint‑Martin), announced the filing of the cessation de paiements declaration.

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Global markets shifted abruptly into a defensive posture this week, with U.S. equities dropping over 2% amid a dual shock of fiscal instability in Japan and renewed trade war tensions between the U.S. and Europe, according to a market commentary published by QCP on Wednesday, Blockspace reported. Bitcoin has fallen below $90,000, failing to hold its recent reclamation of the $97,000 level as the cryptocurrency struggles to find footing.

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Lawmakers in the European Parliament agreed to put off work on the European Union’s trade agreement with the U.S. as President Trump continues his push take over Greenland, the Wall Street Journal reported. “By threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an EU member state and by using tariffs as a coercive instrument, the U.S. is undermining the stability and predictability of EU-U.S. trade relations,” Bernd Lange, chair of the parliament’s international trade committee, said in a statement Wednesday.
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As fallout from the Greg Martel Ponzi scheme continues to inflict hardship for over 1,700 people who invested with the Victoria, B.C., fraudster, newly released documents show that the company appointed to manage Martel’s bankruptcy stands to bill over $12 million for untangling his web of deceit, CBC.ca reported. The estimate is contained in minutes of a meeting posted online by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the accounting firm appointed receiver and bankruptcy trustee of Martel and his Ponzi-vehicle My Mortgage Auction Corp. (MMAC).
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A Calgary-based private equity manager has filed a court application to push the numbered company behind the Stephenville airport into receivership, CBC.ca reported. “An interim receiver is required immediately because the respondent’s chronic lack of capital and ongoing mismanagement threatens the ongoing protection and preservation of the airport assets,” lawyers from BTG Capital Inc. wrote. Late last year, BTG Capital acquired the rights to collect a court judgment against Carl Dymond — the sole director of airport owner 15132738 Canada Inc.
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