Canada's December retail sales slightly beat expectations as people spent more on cars, food and beverages, and at supermarkets during the holiday season, data showed on Thursday, but likely declined at the start of the year, Reuters reported. Retail sales grew by 0.9% in December from November, more than a forecast for a 0.8% gain, from a flat reading in November, which was upwardly revised from -0.2% previously, Statistics Canada said. January's preliminary estimate pointed to a 0.4% decline on the month, Statscan said.

The total financial debt of Mexico's state-owned oil company Pemex totaled $106.8 billion at the end of last year, according to preliminary data released by the country's president on Wednesday, Reuters reported. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador revealed the debt data in a chart from a presentation on Pemex, one of the world's most indebted oil companies, at his regular government press conference. The presentation was dated Feb. 20. It was not immediately clear whether the figure he cited will be included in Pemex's quarterly financial results expected next week.

Canadian inflation decelerated more sharply than anticipated in January, offering comfort the central bank’s past rate increases continue to work through the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices rose 2.9% in January from a year earlier, following December’s gain of 3.4%, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. That marked the lowest level since June, and undershot the 3.3% advance economists were expecting.

Canada's annual inflation rate slowed significantly more than expected to 2.9% in January and core price measures also eased, data showed on Tuesday, bringing forward bets for an early interest rate cut, Reuters reported. It was the first time in seven months that headline inflation has dipped below 3%. That prompted money markets to hike bets for a rate cut in April to 58% from 33% before the figures were published. The Bank of Canada's next policy announcement is March 6. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast inflation to tick down to 3.3% from 3.4% in December.

Liquidators of companies linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal have filed for chapter 15 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as they look to recover assets, Bloomberg News reported. A petition listing 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, Platinum Global Luxury Services Ltd, Aabar International Investments PJS Ltd, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd, and Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd - all registered in the British Virgin Islands - was submitted in the Southern District of Florida court, dated Feb. 15.

Honduras' CNBS regulator has banned the Central American country's financial system from trading in cryptocurrency and similar virtual assets, it said in a resolution, citing risks of fraud and money laundering, Reuters reported.

Assuming Laurentian University’s new 2024-2029 strategic plan is approved by its board of governors later this week at the governing body’s Feb. 16 meeting, the university will have fulfilled one of its major legal obligations following insolvency, Sudbury.com reported. Following 22 months of insolvency restructuring under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), Laurentian exited creditor protection in late 2022. As part of the plan of arrangement approved by its creditors, Laurentian was obligated to create a new strategic plan with the help of consultants.

After the U.S. dropped a broad array of sanctions against Venezuela in October, it warned that it could reimpose all of them, except one. The White House admitted that its ban on buying Venezuelan bonds was a failure that had potentially benefited enemies of the U.S., the Wall Street Journal reported. Behind the scenes, a group of powerful Wall Street investors had been feeding Washington a stream of evidence that showed Venezuelan bonds were being traded by investors with ties to Russia. They said Moscow was hoping to gain influence in the U.S.’s backyard.

The Bank of Canada is likely to wrap up its quantitative tightening program as early as April, sooner than policymakers had previously indicated, according to RBC Capital Markets strategists, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank under Governor Tiff Macklem has been shrinking its balance sheet for about two years, withdrawing the extraordinary stimulus it provided during the worse phase of the Covid-19 shock.

Canadian home sales rose for the second month, with buyers rushing back into the market as speculation builds that prices will rise if the Bank of Canada lowers interest rates later this year, Bloomberg News reported. The number of homes that traded hands rose 3.7% in January from the month before, according to data Wednesday from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Prices continued to soften, with the seasonally adjusted benchmark falling 1.2% to C$717,800 ($529,500), the fifth straight monthly decline.