North America

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will propose a tax on corporate stock buybacks in an effort to encourage companies to invest in domestic operations and workers, Canadian Press reported, Bloomberg News reported. The story, which cited an unnamed government official, didn’t elaborate on the plan that will be part of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget update on Thursday. A person familiar with the document told Bloomberg News the report was accurate, without providing additional details.

The Bank of Canada has not ruled out another oversized interest rate hike to fight sky-high inflation, governor Tiff Macklem said on Tuesday, acknowledging Canadians feel "ripped off" by fast rising prices, Reuters reported. Macklem, answering questions in the Senate's banking, trade and economy committee, said that while the central bank is starting to see signs rate increases are slowing the economy, it is still in excess demand.

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday said it would take a flexible, risk-based approach in its nascent role as a digital payment regulator, aiming to ensure confidence in the safety and reliability of the fast-growing electronic payment segment, Reuters reported. The central bank became the regulator for payment service providers (PSPs) like card networks, digital wallets and money transfer services under Canadian law last year. It is now working with the federal government on setting out how that supervision will work.

Court documents released this week outline a long-term borrowing agreement between Laurentian University and the provincial government to replace $35 million in bridge loans taken out by LU during its insolvency, Sudbury.com reported. In early 2021, Laurentian declared insolvency and filed for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), making widespread cuts to its programs and employees in April of that year. The university hopes to exit the CCAA in November after creditors voted in favour of a debt plan.

Canada’s economic growth rate fell by half in the third quarter, ahead of what’s expected to be an even sharper downturn later this year, Bloomberg News reported. Preliminary industry-based data show gross domestic product expanded 0.1% in September, Statistics Canada reported Friday in Ottawa. That followed an unexpected gain of 0.1% in August, versus a flat reading expected by economists for that month. Overall, the pace of monthly gains was enough to produce annualized growth in the third quarter of 1.6%, according to an initial estimate from the statistics agency.

Mexico's economic activity indicators in the third quarter point to economic growth in line with forecasts of 2.4% annual growth in 2022, the country's finance ministry said on Friday, Reuters reported. "The Mexican economy continues to grow with solid macroeconomic balances despite a challenging international environment," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said dynamic economic activity and a strong labor market led to "positive results" in tax collection, putting it on track to meet year-end estimates.

The Bank of Canada announced a smaller-than-expected interest rate hike on Wednesday and made clear more increases were still needed, even as it forecast the economy could soon slip into a slight recession, Reuters reported. The central bank increased its policy rate by half a percentage point to 3.75%, a 14-year high but coming up short on calls for another 75 basis points move. It has lifted rates by 350 basis points since March, one of its fastest tightening cycles ever.

Mexican annual inflation slowed more than expected in the first half of October but remained far above the central bank's target rate, data from national statistics agency INEGI showed on Monday, Reuters reported. Headline inflation in Latin America's second-largest economy inched down to 8.53% from 8.64% in the second half of September. "With the measures we're taking we are seeing a slowdown in inflation," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a news conference, pointing to a pact with retailers to contain prices of key food staples.

Mexico's economy likely stagnated in September after two months of expansion, according to a preliminary estimate provided by the national statistics agency on Thursday, Reuters reported. The Economic Activity Indicator (IOAE) did not register any variation compared to the previous month. For Mexico's secondary sector, which includes manufacturing activities, no monthly variation is expected in September either, while for the tertiary sector, covering services, a 0.1% contraction is anticipated, according to the report.

Canada's annual inflation rate edged down but exceeded forecasts in September while underlying price pressures were largely unchanged, data showed on Wednesday, amplifying calls for another hefty rate hike by the central bank next week, Reuters reported. Inflation was 6.9%, ahead of forecasts of 6.8% and down from 7.0% in August. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 5.4% from 5.3% in August.