A U.S. court of appeals determined this week that cases against Lebanese commercial banks can be tried outside Lebanon, according to a decision seen by Reuters, paving the way for more cases by depositors seeking to unlock their frozen funds, Reuters reported. The court decision, issued on Dec. 15 in a case brought by Lebanese depositors against leading lender Bank Audi, overturned a lower district court's decision that said Beirut courts had "exclusive jurisdiction" to try cases against Lebanese banks.

Mexico’s central bank will likely decouple from the Federal Reserve early next year by raising interest rates less than the US, after it matches the Fed during its meeting this week, according to Barclays Plc, Bloomberg News reported. Banxico will raise its key rate by 50 basis points to 10.50% on Thursday, mirroring what’s expected by the Federal Open Market Committee, before delivering a last hike of 25 basis points in February, less than the 50 basis-point increase by the Fed in January, Barclays’s analysts wrote in a report.

The European Commission plans to seek feedback on whether the 27-country bloc needs to loosen state aid rules to allow governments to support companies affected by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, Reuters reported. The $430 billion act, which grants consumers tax credits for U.S.-produced electric vehicles (EV) and other green products, has triggered fears it could disadvantage European Union companies and tempt businesses to relocate to the United States.

The Bank of Canada's rapid-fire rate hikes are starting to slow the economy, the governor said on Monday, but while the bank wants to avoid a recession, there is a risk sticky inflation will require "much higher" rates, Reuters reported. Speaking to business leaders in Vancouver, Governor Tiff Macklem said the tightening had "begun to work" but would take time to feed through the economy. The bank lifted rates at a record pace of 400 basis points in nine months to 4.25% - a level last seen in January 2008 - to tame inflation that was 6.9% in October.

Crisis-hit Cuba on Monday forecast economic growth of 3% for 2023 and reported 2% in 2022, half of what it had previously predicted and down 8% from the pre-pandemic level, Reuters reported. This year has proved tough for most Cubans, who had already suffered as a result of two years of pandemic lockdowns, raging inflation and food, medicine and other shortages. Daily blackouts have disrupted lives and the economy, while fuel and parts shortages have gutted public transportation.

The billionaire co-founder of Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd is wanted in the United States accused of paying kickbacks to obtain permits for a construction project in San Francisco, a court in London heard on Monday, Reuters reported. Zhang Li, the chief executive of Hong Kong-listed developer R&F, is wanted on a provisional warrant issued in the Northern District of California, which accuses him of participating in a scheme to bribe public officials between 2015 and 2020. Ben Lloyd, representing U.S.

Canada’s banking regulator said the country’s mortgage stress test has helped prevent widespread defaults as interest rates rose this year, rebuffing calls to weaken or eliminate the measure amid a surge in homebuying costs, Bloomberg News reported. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions requires banks to ensure that borrowers can still qualify for their mortgages at a rate two percentage points higher than what the lender is offering, or 5.25% — whichever rate is higher at the time.

Canada's biggest pension fund, CPP Investments, has ended its effort to study investment opportunities in the volatile crypto market, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The reasons behind CPPI's abandonment of crypto research were not immediately clear. CPPI declined to comment but said it has made no direct investments in crypto. It referred to previous comments on cryptocurrency by its CEO, John Graham, in which he sounded a note of caution.

The Bank of Canada said decisions about future interest-rate increases will be guided by incoming economic data, though it’s still ready to move aggressively if needed, Bloomberg News reported. Deputy Governor Sharon Kozicki, in a speech Thursday in Montreal, said policymakers expect adjustments to monetary policy will be “more data-dependent,” but kept the possibility of larger hikes on the table. “If we are surprised on the upside, we are still prepared to be forceful,” Kozicki said.

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates aggressively for a sixth straight time, while opening the door to pausing its hiking cycle, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Governor Tiff Macklem increased the benchmark overnight lending rate by 50 basis points to 4.25% on Wednesday, the highest since the beginning of 2008. The move was in line with the expectations of a slim majority of economists in a Bloomberg survey.