In a highly unusual move, the Canadian government on Monday invoked a series of emergency powers that include limits on public gatherings in a bid to end disruptive demonstrations in the capital city and along the Canada-U.S. border, the Wall Street Journal reported. The measures, announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, represent one of the most striking responses by a Western government against protests by those opposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates and social restrictions in response to the pandemic, and immediately drew fire from some Canadian leaders and civil-liberties groups.

Mexico’s financial industry will need to embrace transparency and accounting disclosure to rebuild the confidence of investors rattled by Credito Real SAB’s missed bond payment, according to Moody’s Investors Service, Bloomberg News reported. The non-bank lender’s failure to repay holders of 170 million in Swiss franc ($184 million) bonds last week will be a drag for market peers -- especially those that have limited financial flexibility or bondholder protection, analysts Felipe Carvallo and Luis Fernando Baza said in a report.

Coinbase Global on Tuesday said it is launching a pilot program to allow cryptocurrency recipients in Mexico to cash out their funds in pesos, a move aimed at shaking up the $700 billion global remittance market, Reuters reported. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are seen as an important way for people to send money to family and friends overseas because of the borderless nature of crypto and fewer intermediaries than traditional currency transfers.

Opening statements are expected to take place today in the U.S. corruption trial of a former Goldman Sachs banker charged with helping to launder hundreds of millions of dollars looted from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, Reuters reported. Roger Ng, Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia, stands accused of conspiring to launder money and to violate an anti-bribery law. He has pleaded not guilty and Ng's lawyer has called him a "fall guy" for one of the biggest financial scandals in Wall Street history. The trial in Brooklyn federal court could last up to six weeks.

The U.S. is considering offering Ukraine up to $1 billion in sovereign loan guarantees to help Ukraine’s economy amid pressures from the Russian military build-up, a senior Biden administration official said on Monday, Reuters reported. The White House official was confirming what a source familiar with the matter had earlier recounted to Reuters about a conversation by national security adviser Jake Sullivan with congressional leaders.

A judge on Friday ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the 5-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production, the Associated Press reported.

Mexican payroll and business lender Credito Real SA B de CV said its planned refinancing of a 170 million Swiss franc bond, worth $184 million, hadn’t materialized, pointing to a possible nonpayment and restructuring ahead for the embattled shadow bank, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Credito Real has until the end of Wednesday to repay or refinance the outstanding bond, or could be deemed in default. Failure to pay would likely trigger a cross-default on other debt obligations, including the company’s dollar-denominated bonds.

Mexico raised its key interest rate by a half-percentage point for a second consecutive meeting as policy makers look past an economy in recession to address inflation near a two-decade high, Bloomberg News reported. In the first monetary policy meeting led by new Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja, the central bank raised the benchmark rate by a half point to 6% on Thursday. The increase matched the forecasts of 19 of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with three analysts anticipating a quarter-point hike.

A former Goldman Sachs banker charged with helping to embezzle hundreds of millions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund will go on trial in the United States next week, in a case that could shed light on how the bank responded to warnings of corruption, Reuters reported. Roger Ng, Goldman's former investment banking chief in Malaysia, will be the first - and likely only - person to stand trial in the United States over one of the biggest financial scandals in Wall Street history.

President Nayib Bukele’s unorthodox policies -- from ousting top court judges to trading Bitcoin on his phone with public money -- have heightened the nation’s perceived riskiness for investors and ratings agencies, Bloomberg News reported. “The weakening of institutions and concentration of power in the presidency have increased policy unpredictability, and the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender has added uncertainty about the potential for an IMF program that would unlock financing for 2022-2023,” Fitch said in its statement.