Goeasy said on Tuesday it had secured waivers from lenders linked to certain financial covenants for the fourth quarter, easing the pressure on the Canadian non-prime consumer lender after it disclosed a big charge-off and write-downs, Reuters reported. Shares of the company rose 4% in morning trading as the relief helps it avoid raising additional equity. The Ontario-based company was at the risk of breaching several covenants after flagging about C$178 million ($129.61 million) in charge-off and other write-downs tied to its LendCare unit.

U.S. import prices rose in February, driven by higher prices for both fuel and nonfuel imports, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overall import prices rose 1.3% in February, higher than the upwardly revised 0.6% increase in January, the data showed. Year-on-year prices were up 1.3%, the BLS said. Import prices exclude duties, such as tariffs imposed on imports by the Trump administration, as well as transportation costs.

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Andrew Puzder warned the bloc should expect more tariffs if it doesn’t approve a stalled trade deal with Washington, Bloomberg reported. “If the trade deal goes away, you guys get hit with the increased tariffs, and for us, nothing changes,” Puzder told Bloomberg News on Monday. “It’s economic malpractice not to pass this,” he added.

Business activity in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia slowed this month as energy prices and uncertainty were driven higher by the war in the Middle East, while a cooling of new orders pointed to longer-lasting harm if the conflict continues or escalates, the Wall Street Journal reported. Data firm S&P Global said Tuesday that its U.S. composite purchasing managers index fell to an 11-month low of 51.4 in March, compared with 51.9 in February.

A unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday it had widened its claims in ‌an international arbitration case against Panama, saying damages had now risen to more ‌than $2 billion, Reuters reported. Panama Ports Company, which for nearly three decades operated the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the ​Panama Canal, said it had supplemented its claims in proceedings under the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration rules, a month after what it described as the state's illegal takeover of two port terminals and company property.

Retail sales were up 1.1 per cent at $70.7 billion in January, driven by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealerships, Statistics Canada says, the Canadian Press reported. Sales were up in six of the nine subsectors it tracks, as the motor vehicle and parts dealers subsector posted the largest increase in retail sales in January — up two per cent, the agency said on Friday. Andrew Grantham, senior economist at CIBC, said retail sales appear to be starting the year strong.

The United States has extended a license that protects Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum ​from creditors through May 5, according to a posting on ‌Thursday on the Treasury Department's website, Reuters reported. The extension comes a day after Washington issued a general license broadly authorizing U.S. companies to do business with Citgo's ultimate parent, ​Caracas-headquartered Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA. The general license is seen ​as a key step to encourage investment and further ⁠oil output in Venezuela, and also reinforces U.S.