Canada’s economic growth accelerated last quarter and momentum carried into the start of this year as the central bank’s forceful rate cuts boosted household spending, Bloomberg News reported. Advance data suggest gross domestic product rose 0.3% in January, following a 0.2% expansion in December that ended the fourth quarter with a stronger-than-expected increase at a 2.6% annualized pace, Statistics Canada said Friday. That’s the strongest growth since the second quarter, and a pickup from an upwardly revised 2.2% increase between July and September.

The founder of a cryptocurrency financial services firm has been extradited from Portugal to face U.S. charges that he participated in a wide-ranging scheme to manipulate the market for digital tokens on behalf of client companies, Reuters reported. Aleksei Andriunin, the CEO of cryptocurrency "market maker" Gotbit, was ordered detained following an appearance in Boston federal court on Wednesday, one day after his extradition. Andriunin was indicted in October on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud.

President Donald Trump says he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China, Reuters reported. Posting on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crackdown on the trafficking.

President Donald Trump said he expected tariffs planned to take effect on Canada and Mexico to go ahead next month following an initial delay to allow the countries more time to address his concerns over border security, Bloomberg News reported. “The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said Monday from the White House during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was asked if the tariffs, which he delayed until March 4, would go into effect.

Mexico’s annual inflation accelerated roughly in line with economists’ forecasts in early February, holding near the central bank’s estimates and keeping chances of a sixth straight interest rate cut in play, Bloomberg News reported. Official data released Monday showed consumer prices rose 3.74% in the first two weeks of the month from the year before, just below the 3.77% median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg and up from the 3.48% reading in late January.

Canadian consumers tightened their grip on their purse strings after a holiday splurge, Bloomberg News reported. An advance estimate suggests receipts for retailers fell 0.4% in January, Statistics Canada said Friday. That would be the first contraction in seven months and follows a solid gain of 2.5% in December, which is the biggest jump since May 2022 and beat the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. A federal sales tax holiday between Dec. 14 and Feb. 15 was likely a major driver of the robust spending, although the momentum didn’t appear to last in January.

Mexico’s economy posted the biggest quarterly contraction since 2021, with domestic demand and private investment faltering just as tensions with its top trade partner mount, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product fell 0.6% in the three months through December, matching the 0.6% decline reported in preliminary data released by the country’s national statistics institute Jan. 30. From a year ago, GDP expanded 0.5%, less than the flash reading of 0.6%, according to the final data published Friday.

Esprit has flagged another annual loss, citing the insolvency of its European and US subsidiaries and an adverse operating environment, InsideRetail.asia reported. The Hong Kong-listed fashion company expects an unaudited net loss of HK$1.172 billion (US$150 million) for the year ended December 31, compared to a loss of HK$2.339 billion in the prior year. The company also expects a 73 per cent drop in revenue and 76 per cent decrease in gross profit for the year.