Stephen Poloz can’t hold off raising interest rates any longer. Economists are predicting the Bank of Canada governor will resume tightening policy this Wednesday in what would be the first increase in borrowing costs since January, Bloomberg News reported. More hikes are set to follow as businesses warn of wage pressures and inflation remains above the central bank’s target. Poloz, however, is still unlikely to be in a hurry. There remains a long list of reasons for prudence, starting with the real possibility Canada gets into a trade war with its biggest trading partner.

Barbados' creditors are gearing up for debt restructuring talks as the government advances discussions with the IMF over a potential financing package, LatinFinance reported. Newly-elected Prime Minister Mia Mottley and her administration, along with financial advisors White Oak, are expected to continue meetings with domestic creditors and their advisors over the next few weeks, a source familiar with the proceedings has said.

Consolidation among smaller offshore oil rig companies would help to boost a recovery in the drilling market, the CEO of offshore rig firm Seadrill said on Tuesday, a day after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Reuters reported. Seadrill started trading new shares on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday and plans to list new shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange by end of July or beginning of August. Shares of Seadrill, controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, opened at $25 a share, but slid to $18 a share by 1508 GMT.

Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill said on Monday it had successfully completed its reorganisation, emerging from a U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy process launched last September, Reuters reported. The company, once the world’s largest offshore driller by the market capitalisation, was forced to seek protection from creditors when it was unable to repay its debts amassed during boom years to buy new rigs. When oil prices fell in 2014, oil companies cancelled or postponed exploration plans to save cash which reduced demand for offshore drilling rigs.

Coupons on 525 million pounds ($701.40 million) of debt underpinned by retirement home operator Four Seasons will not be paid, the issuers of the notes said on Wednesday. The owners of Four Seasons recently agreed a deal with investment firm H/2 Capital Partners to restructure the group, transferring ownership to a new owner controlled by its creditors, Reuters reported. The boards of Elli Finance (UK) Plc and Elli Investments, the issuers of the notes, said their respective boards “have concluded that they will not be in a position to pay the coupons due under the Notes on 15 June 2018”.

Mexico’s credit risk is at the highest level since the days after Donald Trump’s inauguration. Five-year credit-default swaps that hedge against a drop in the value of Mexico’s sovereign debt have soared as the July 1 presidential election nears, Bloomberg News reported. Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador holds a commanding lead in the polls, and traders are concerned his victory could upend the economy just as the country is roiled by increasing trade tensions with the U.S. Other Mexican assets are also showing signs of stress as the election approaches.

The Mexican peso sank to its weakest in more than a year on concern the U.S. may leave the Nafta agreement and try to negotiate two separate free-trade deals with Mexico and Canada, Bloomberg News reported. The currency slid for a fourth day, dropping 1.6 percent to 20.4031 per dollar as of 3:46 p.m. in New York, the second-sharpest retreat among major peers. The cost of insuring Mexican bonds in the credit-default swaps market for five years surged nine basis points to 146.501, climbing for a ninth day in the longest streak since June 2013. Stocks halted a two-day rally.

Barbados must prepare for a long and painful journey back to financial and economic health, after announcing a radical plan to tackle the fourth-biggest debt burden in the world, according to the country’s new premier. The Caribbean island is still reeling from prime minister Mia Mottley’s revelation on Friday that it had discovered previously undisclosed financial liabilities, which lifted the country’s overall debt from 137 per cent of gross domestic product to more than 175 per cent, the Financial Times reported.

Birds Eye owner Nomad Foods took on additional debt to fund the €225 million acquisition this year of Irish frozen pizza-maker Goodfellas, before receiving the threat of a credit downgrade on Monday after sealing another leveraged deal, the Irish Times reported. Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded the outlook on its rating on Nomad Foods creditworthiness on Monday to “negative” from “stable” after the company announced the new €240 million debt-funded purchase of UK-based frozen food manufacturer of Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes Aunt Bessies.

Barbados has announced an “emergency plan” to tackle its mounting economic crisis, including restructuring its public debt, after the Caribbean country’s new government discovered that its liabilities were much worse than thought, reaching 175 per cent of gross domestic product, the Financial Times reported. The Barbados Labour Party, led by Mia Mottley, came to power in an election in late May, propelled by the failure of a tough austerity programme implemented by her predecessor to turnround the island’s economic and fiscal crisis.