China's securities watchdog on Thursday said that it was willing to work with its counterparts in the United States to promote regulatory cooperation on audits and safeguard the rights and interests of global investors, Reuters reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was commenting a day after a U.S. accounting watchdog said that it found unacceptable deficiencies in audits of U.S.-listed Chinese companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was commenting a day after a U.S.

Manitoba (Canada) could see a spurt in people filing for bankruptcy over the summer months, an insolvency trustee warns, CBC.ca reported. New data from the federal government shows 200 individual Manitobans filed for bankruptcy in the first quarter of this year, which is up from the first quarters of 2021 and 2022. And experts say the second quarter could see even more.

A U.S. accounting watchdog found unacceptable deficiencies in audits of U.S.-listed Chinese companies performed by KPMG in China and PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, the government agency said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)published the findings of its inspections after gaining access to Chinese company auditors' records for the first time last year following more than a decade of negotiations with Chinese authorities. That access kept roughly 200 China-based public companies from potentially being kicked off U.S.

A U.S. court of appeals has granted Venezuela a temporary stay preventing six companies from joining a proposed court auction of shares in a Citgo Petroleum parent to enforce judgments for past expropriation of assets, Reuters reported. Since March, creditors including a unit of O-I Glass, Huntington Ingalls Industries, ACL1 Investments, Koch Minerals and mining firms Rusoro Mining and Gold Reserve, have been granted rights to seize shares in the parent of Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo, PDV Holding.

Mexico’s annual inflation slowed for the third consecutive month to 6.25% in April, data from statistics agency INEGI showed on Tuesday, fueling expectations the Bank of Mexico's monetary tightening cycle may be ending, Reuters reported. April's reading was nearly as low as October 2021, though it came slightly above the consensus forecast of 6.23%, as determined by a Reuters poll. Consumer prices fell 0.02% in April, according to non-seasonally adjusted figures, against an expected 0.04% fall. The core index, which strips out some volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.39% during the month.

The Bank of Canada said on Monday it launched public consultations on the features that could be included in a digital Canadian dollar, in a exploratory move to gauge the viability of a digital version of the currency, Reuters reported. "As the world becomes increasingly digital, the Bank - like many other central banks - is exploring a digital version of Canada's national currency," the central bank said in a statement. The consultation opened on Monday and runs until June 19. Read more.

Argentina is seeking new easing of targets in its $44 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund and faster payouts, and is pushing to get key IMF members the United States and Brazil to support it, Reuters reported. The country is expected to return to talks with the IMF on Thursday over amending the deal, which has come under strain amid a historic drought that has battered the country's key cash crops soy and corn, a senior economy ministry official said.

The Canadian government is starting a month of consultations on how to better protect post-secondary institutions when they become insolvent, so they can avoid the same fate at Laurentian University, CBC.ca reported. In February 2021 the Sudbury, Ont. university filed for insolvency. Laurentian became the first public university to use the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) to restructure after its financial troubles. Through that process, which has previously been used for corporate restructuring, Laurentian cut 69 programs, and nearly 200 staff and faculty members lost their jobs.

Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne yesterday launched a consultation seeking feedback from universities, experts, lenders and other stakeholders on how to better protect the public interest functions of public post-secondary educational institutions when they become insolvent, according to a press release. "What happened at Laurentian University has raised concerns as to whether our current insolvency laws are fit for purpose to help publicly funded post-secondary institutions resolve financial distress," Champagne said.

A British Columbia company has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., GlobalNews.ca reported. Known for creating engineered wood products, also known as mass timber, Structurlam of Penticton announced on Monday that it had entered into a purchase agreement to sell all of its assets in B.C. and Arkansas for US$60 million. Mass timber is wood that’s been glued or laminated together, then digitally cut out in various shapes, sizes and lengths. Those custom pieces are then shipped and precisely assembled on-site.