Canada’s annual rate of core inflation eased for a fourth straight month, bolstering a case for policymakers to begin an easing cycle in the coming months, but a slight increase in the monthly pace may keep a June rate cut from being a certainty, Bloomberg News reported. The Bank of Canada’s two core inflation measures slowed in April to an average yearly pace of 2.75%, down from 3.05% a month earlier, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday in Ottawa. That’s slightly slower than the 2.8% expected in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Canadian business insolvencies have climbed to levels not seen since the financial crisis of 2008, driven by indebted companies struggling with interest rates and softened consumer demand. But even those official insolvency statistics don’t tell the full picture, according to a commentary in The Globe and Mail. Economists and professionals who work with small and medium-sized businesses warn that the actual number of businesses that fail is much higher, with other data suggesting the problem is growing.

Bidders in a U.S. court auction of shares that will decide the ownership of Venezuela-owned U.S. oil refiner Citgo Petroleum can be required to say if their binding offers cover claims by Venezuela bondholders in a separate court action, a U.S. District Court judge ruled on Friday, Reuters reported. The decision lets bidders seeking to place multi-billion dollar offers for a Citgo parent's shares to be asked if they plan to set aside cash or consider how they may accommodate Venezuela 2020 note holders seeking payment of $3 billion in principal debt.

A Belgian court ruled Thursday that all assets in the country belonging to American investment group 777 Partners can be seized, in the latest legal setback for the embattled company that owns Standard Liège and several other soccer clubs, the Associated Press reported. The decision by a court in Liege came after Standard's former owner Bruno Venanzi and shareholders of the company holding the club’s stadium requested the move, saying 777 had defaulted on a payment.

U.S. authorities charged two Chinese nationals in a cryptocurrency scam that laundered at least $73 million from defrauded victims, the Justice Department said on Friday, Reuters reported. U.S. officials arrested Yicheng Zhang in Los Angeles on Thursday, according to an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in California's central district later that day. Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, was arrested at the Atlanta airport in April. The U.S.

Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed “Crypto King” who collected millions of dollars from investors, only to spend it on luxury goods, has been arrested on fraud charges in Canada, Bloomberg News reported. Pleterski, who lives in the Toronto suburb of Whitby, Ontario, was charged with fraud and laundering the proceeds of crime and held for a bail hearing, according to a statement Wednesday from the provincial securities regulator. Another man, Colin Murphy of Oshawa, Ontario, was charged with one count of fraud.

The company that operates retailers Ted Baker, Lucky Brand and Brooks Brothers plans to close a number of stores in Canada and the U.S. after months of declining sales pushed the operations into insolvency proceedings, the Globe and Mail reported. Ted Baker Canada announced the launch of liquidation sales on Friday, covering nine out of 25 Ted Baker stores in Canada and all of the brand’s locations in the U.S. The sales also affect all Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand stores in Canada. The company has shut down its e-commerce operations for the time being.

China strongly opposed the United States' tariff hikes, its commerce ministry said on Tuesday, vowing it will take resolute measures to defend its rights and interests, Reuters reported. "U.S. raising Section 301 tariffs violates President Biden's commitment to 'not seek to suppress and contain China's development' and 'not to seek to decouple and break links with China'," said a statement by the ministry, adding the move will "seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation." U.S.

Canada should take steps to introduce more mortgages with longer renewal terms, according to the country’s largest financial co-operative, Bloomberg News reported. More mortgage options, specifically those with 10-year terms, would help contain “payment shocks” faced by households when they renew their debt obligations after interest rates have increased, according to a report released Monday by Desjardins.

Grupo Aeromexico SAB is seeking a return to equity markets, filing for a US initial public offering two years after delisting from the Mexican stock exchange, Bloomberg News reported. The company intends to list American Depositary shares or ADS on the NYSE under the symbol AERO and there will be no public offering of the shares in Mexico, Aeromexico said in the prospectus. The company didn’t disclose the size or price range of the offering. Barclays, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Evercore ISI and Apollo Global Securities will be underwriters for the deal.