Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Thursday he would welcome Mexican investors bidding in the sale of U.S. bank Citigroup's consumer banking operations in Mexico, making a pitch for the assets to become Mexican again, Reuters reported. "We can turn it into something very good, if, without authoritarian measures, it's possible to Mexicanize this bank," Lopez Obrador said in a video address from his office, where he is recovering from a COVID-19 infection. Lopez Obrador welcomed the fact Mexican tycoon Ricardo Salinas had shown interest in the assets.

COVID-19 vaccine requirements for foreign truckers at the U.S.-Canada border still could cause supply-chain disruptions if both countries do not decide to allow exemptions, the head of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Late on Wednesday, Canada dropped a vaccine mandate for Canadian truckers returning home from the United States that was supposed to kick in on Saturday, but unvaccinated non-Canadians will still be turned back at the border.

A unit of offshore driller Seadrill Ltd yesterday filed a fast-tracked reorganization plan in Houston bankruptcy court, where it expects to seek approval of the proposal today, Reuters reported. The case comes just a few months after its parent entity emerged from its own bankruptcy proceeding. That reorganization plan is scheduled to go into effect early this year. Seadrill New Finance Ltd’s chapter 11 case is intended to be the “final component” of the entire Seadrill Group’s restructuring efforts, according to a declaration from financial controller Tyson de Souza.

Mexican carrier Aeromexico said yesterday that its creditors have overwhelmingly approved the company's restructuring plan as part of its efforts to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Aeromexico said in a statement that the voting ended on 7 Jan. and 86% of the creditors who voted backed the plan. "The conclusion of the voting process and the strong support from the company's creditors represents a key milestone in Aeromexico's restructuring process," the company said. It also puts Aeromexico in a strong position to "obtain Court approval for the plan", the company added.

Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on Monday maintained their forecasts for growth in expenses this year despite expectations that inflation will remain elevated, Reuters reported. CIBC, Canada's No. 5 bank, said last month it expects mid-single-digit expense growth in fiscal 2022, after reporting a 13% increase in the fourth quarter, the highest in the industry.

Mexico’s government said it had slashed Petroleos Mexicanos’ debt burden by $3.2 billion through a refinancing operation, Bloomberg News reported. The government swapped debt that was expiring soon for a new bond with a maturity of 10 years, while also refinancing some medium maturity debt that was cheap, according to a statement from the Finance Ministry. The operation will reduce the “financial pressure” on Pemex by $10.5 billion between 2024 and 2030, the ministry said, adding that the refinancing wouldn’t reduce the fiscal budget.

Lawyers for insolvent Laurentian University continue to defend against a Speaker's warrant issued by the Ontario Legislature that aims to force the Sudbury school to give up privileged information to the auditor general, CBC.ca reported. A legislative committee tasked Bonnie Lysyk with a special audit last spring to look into how the university became insolvent.

Mexico central bank board member Jonathan Heath sounded the alarm about accelerating core inflation, saying in a series of tweets that the situation “looks grave” and may signal a structural problem, Bloomberg News reported. Even though annual inflation at the end of 2021 was marginally slower than in November and even slower than analyst forecasts, it isn’t good news because core prices are rising faster, Heath said. The annual core figure stood at 6% in the last half of December. It “signals the persistence of a more inertial or even structural problem,” Heath said in one Twitter post.

CannTrust Holdings Inc., the troubled Canadian cannabis producer whose former executives have been charged with fraud, is preparing to wind down if it can’t find a way to fix a default by the end of the month, Bloomberg News reported. The Vaughan, Ontario-based company breached a minimum earnings covenant on its C$22.5 million ($17.7 million) bankruptcy loan, and is currently in negotiations with potential investors and strategic partners over ways to address the default and its liquidity shortfall, according to a Thursday statement.

Mexico's central bank signaled concern over rising inflation and labor costs as its board voted last month to raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.50%, minutes from the latest monetary policy meeting showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. "All members mentioned that headline and core inflation expectations for 2021, 2022 and for the next 12 months increased again, along with medium-term expectations, while long-term expectations have remained stable at levels above the target," the Bank of Mexico said in the latest minutes.