Nearly two-thirds of Canadians say higher borrowing costs are squeezing their pocketbooks, a result that’s at odds with a recent rebound in household consumption, Bloomberg News reported. Some 64% of Canadians say higher interest rates are having a negative or somewhat negative impact on their personal spending, according to a Nanos Research Group survey conducted for Bloomberg News. Another 28% said there was no impact, while 6% said the impact was positive. The survey may raise questions about why a spending slowdown hasn’t yet shown up in the data.

An Australian company that clinched the first U.S. clearance for its at-home Covid-19 test kit has collapsed into liquidation after a sale to a competitor fell through, Bloomberg News reported. Covid-19 test maker Ellume Ltd.’s sale to Hough Consolidated Pty Ltd. unraveled this week, and the company is now winding down operations, according to a statement. Hough had agreed to buy the company in December for $38 million (A$56 million), but the deal fell apart after Hough made repeated requests to extend deadlines tied to the agreement.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government stopped Canada’s work with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank while it investigates claims the institution faces substantial interference from the Chinese government, Bloomberg News reported. “Canada will immediately halt all government-led activity at the bank,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters Wednesday in Ottawa.

Canada's financial regulator is urging lenders to tackle risks from mortgage extensions at the "earliest opportunity" as many borrowers try to navigate higher mortgage costs after the Bank of Canada's surprise rate hike last week, Reuters reported. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions' (OSFI) urgency underscores the concern about the risk accumulating in Canadian lenders' books as the central bank has resumed interest rate hike after a four-month pause.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, wants a U.S. judge to throw out criminal charges brought against him following his extradition from the Bahamas, Reuters reported. In papers filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for the former billionaire said they asked Bahamas' Supreme Court to bar the country's government from authorizing U.S. prosecutors to move forward on the five charges, until their client has a chance to be heard. The lawyers said that a sixth charge, for violating U.S.

Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the US, Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, Bloomberg News reported. For the past two days, the Saudi capital has played host to the largest ever Chinese-Arab business gathering. Under the chandeliers and vaulted ceilings of Riyadh’s grandest conference hall, Saudi officials spoke of integrating China into the Arab region and Chinese executives said they stood ready to “de-Americanize” the world’s top oil exporter.

Mexico's annual inflation rate slowed in May for a fourth consecutive month to 5.84%, data from statistics agency INEGI showed on Thursday, beating forecasts and continuing a downward trend spurred by a long cycle of rate hikes, Reuters reported. Headline inflation came in below a forecast of 5.90% and is now at its lowest since August 2021. Consumer prices fell 0.22% in May from April, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures, against an expected drop of 0.16%. Nonetheless analysts say future drops in inflation may now be trickier, prompting a delay in rate cuts.

A judge has approved a plan to sell an insolvent St. Lawrence fluorspar mine, mill and marine terminal to a new owner, with a formal share purchase agreement to be formalized as early as Friday, the CBC reported. The purchaser plans to restart the operation, though a timeline has not been revealed. Those owed money by Canada Fluorspar Inc., however, can expect "substantial" losses, or zero repayment on liabilities that total more than $140 million, according to Justice Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Bank of Canada on Wednesday hiked its overnight rate to a 22-year high of 4.75%, and markets and analysts immediately forecast yet another increase next month to ratchet down an overheating economy and stubbornly high inflation, Reuters reported. The central bank had been on hold since January to assess the impact of previous hikes after raising borrowing costs eight times since March 2022 to a 15-year high of 4.50% - the fastest tightening cycle in the bank's history.

A public-private partnership in El Salvador will pump $1 billion into creating one of the world's largest bitcoin mining farms, the group called Volcano Energy announced on Monday, Reuters reported. The project will start with an initial $250 million, backed by "key Bitcoin industry leaders" in collaboration with renewable energy developers, Volcano Energy said in a statement. El Salvador's state "Bitcoin Office" retweeted the news on its Twitter. The presidential office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.