The Trump administration has issued a 60-day waiver of the Jones Act in an attempt to lower gasoline prices that have surged since the U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran, NPR.org reported. The Jones Act is a century-old maritime law requiring that goods shipped between U.S. ports be transported on U.S.-built and flagged vessels. Temporarily waiving this act opens up domestic shipping routes to foreign-flagged vessels, possibly reducing shipping costs and speeding up deliveries.

The Bank of Canada held its principal interest rate at 2.25 per cent Wednesday, but warned rising oil and natural prices caused by the war in Iran will push up inflation in the short term, BNNBloomberg reported. In its latest monetary policy decision, Canada’s top bankers painted a picture of a weaker-than-expected economy that is facing new levels of uncertainty because of the war. Canada’s economy is dealing with a lot. And now, we face more volatility,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in his opening remarks at Wednesday’s rate announcement.

Canada's financial intelligence unit, the Financial Transactions and Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) pulled the registrations of 23 cryptocurrency service providers in a single enforcement action Tuesday, marking an escalation in the country's anti-money laundering efforts targeting digital asset businesses, Decrypt.com reported.

Battered by Iranian strikes and the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates and some fellow Persian Gulf states have come to view Iran’s theocracy as an existential enemy. They now want the regime they once courted to be neutered, if not dismantled, when the conflict ends—so the ordeal is never repeated, the Wall Street Journal reported. The U.A.E. has borne the brunt of Iranian attacks: More than 2,000 drones and missiles have been fired at the country since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

U.S. private credit firm Blue Owl Capital triggered the recent collapse of a UK mortgage lender after discovering irregularities in its financial reporting and demanding repayment, the Financial Times reported. Blue Owl, which manages more than $300bn, has become a focal point for concerns about the private credit sector and its stock has shed more than 40 per cent so far this year. It tipped bridging loan specialist Century Capital Partners into administration last month after discovering the UK group had dismissed a director because of financial discrepancies.

Statistics Canada says the amount Canadians owed relative to their income climbed for the fifth consecutive quarter, BNN Bloomberg reported. The agency says that the ratio of household credit market debt as a proportion of disposable income rose to 177.2 per cent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. In other words, Statistics Canada says there was $1.77 in credit market debt for every dollar of household disposable income in the fourth quarter.

Statistics Canada said that the annual rate of inflation dipped below two per cent in February as the end of last year’s federal “tax holiday” helped take some steam out of the yearly price comparisons, BnnBloomberg.ca reported. The agency said Monday that February’s inflation reading came in at 1.8 per cent year-over-year, half a percentage point lower than January’s figures and just under economists’ expectations for the month.

Billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego’s broadcaster TV Azteca filed to initiate Mexican bankruptcy proceedings on Thursday, according to a spokesperson, as the company seeks to bring a battle with creditors over $400 million of defaulted bonds to Mexico, Bloomberg News reported. TV Azteca, known for producing soap operas and reality shows, filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection before a Mexican court to help reorganize its liabilities and strengthen its financial structure, Grupo Salinas spokesperson Luciano Pascoe said.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office said late on Thursday it had begun a second set of Section 301 unfair trade practices probes of 60 economies in relation ​to what it called failures to take action on forced labor, Reuters reported. President Donald Trump's administration has sought to rebuild tariff ‌pressure on countries around the world after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his global tariffs as illegal on February 20.

Canadian and Mexican officials on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of ​maintaining the trilateral free trade agreement between their ‌countries and the U.S., amid signals from Washington it could be interested in bilateral deals, Reuters reported. Canada's ambassador to Mexico Cameron MacKay ​and Mexican deputy trade secretary Luis Rosendo Gutierrez ​both told a conference in Mexico City that ⁠maintaining the trilateral U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement was a priority for ​their nations. The meetings follow an announcement by U.S.