The decade-plus American bankruptcy of property developer Sean Dunne took a major step toward final resolution on Tuesday, after a U.S. judge allowed payments to his two ex-wives, the Irish Times reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Julie A. Manning approved, pending the filing of revised paperwork, more than $2.8 million in payments to Mr Dunne’s two ex-wives. She added she would also rule by Friday on distribution of the remainder of the more than $16 million in the estate.

Chris Johnson Associates Ltd, a long-standing local recovery and insolvency firm, has filed a legal action challenging a decision by the Work Permit Board to impose the conditions of an employee’s permit and a ruling by the Immigration Appeals Tribunal to uphold the decision, CaymanNewsService.com reported. In the writ, CJA claims the board and tribunal were erroneous in law, unreasonable and breached natural justice when they decided the permit would be granted for just six months but could not be renewed, and the firm must train a Caymanian for the position.

Inflation held steady in Canada last month as consumers paid less at the pumps and saw rent rise less steeply, though food prices continue to put pressure on wallets, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country’s consumer-price index rose a modest 0.1% in November and was up 2.2% on a year earlier, Statistics Canada said Monday. That was slightly softer than the 2.3% annual rate economists expected.

Canadian regulators are stepping up the fight against online fraud and scams by shutting down thousands of fake crypto platforms and websites that are believed to be orchestrating investment scams, InvestmentExecutive.com reported. In a joint release Thursday, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) reported that between June 5 and Nov. 23 they’ve taken down more than 3,900 fake platforms and scam websites that utilized upwards of 6,900 web addresses.

A fund run by life sciences venture firm Apple Tree Partners filed for bankruptcy months after alleging that its Russian billionaire backer, Dmitry Rybolovlev, hasn’t met financing commitments because of liquidity problems at his family office, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. New York-based Apple Tree Life Sciences filed for chapter 11 reorganization Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., with assets of more than $1 billion and liabilities of less than $500,000.

Do Kwon, a crypto entrepreneur who created two virtual currencies that spectacularly melted down, prompting a market crisis in 2022, was sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday, the New York Times reported. Kwon became a cautionary tale of crypto hubris when the digital currencies he designed — TerraUSD and Luna — lost all their value practically overnight. The crash caused a chain reaction that led to the collapse of a string of major crypto companies. Mr.

Canada logged its first trade surplus in eight months in September as exports rebounded and domestic demand showed signs of softening, the Wall Street Journal reported. The country recorded a small merchandise-trade surplus of 153 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about $110.9 million, Statistics Canada said Thursday. That was essentially a balanced trade position, as exports jumped even as imports pulled back. The shift in the balance from a revised C$6.43 billion deficit in August was considerably stronger that the C$4.5 billion shortfall that economists expected.

Mexico’s automotive industry posted sharp declines across cars, light trucks and heavy-duty commercial vehicles in November, as road blockades, labor stoppages and softer global demand disrupted factory operations and slowed exports, Freight Waves reported. The country’s heavy-vehicle manufacturers — tractor-trailers, trucks and buses — recorded significant declines in November, according to data from Mexico’s National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Producers (Anpact).

Do Kwon, the South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind two digital currencies that lost an estimated $40 billion in 2022, is set to be sentenced in New York federal court on Thursday for fraud and conspiracy, Reuters reported. Kwon, 34, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, previously pleaded guilty and admitted to misleading investors about a coin that was supposed to maintain a steady price during periods of crypto market volatility.

Mexico's decision to raise tariffs as high as 50% will affect $1 billion worth of shipments from major Indian car exporters, including Volkswagen and Hyundai, despite industry lobbying to persuade New Delhi to prevent such a move, according to two sources and a letter from an industry group reviewed by Reuters. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's government approved on Wednesday raising import tariffs next year on hundreds of items from countries it does not have trade agreements with, including China and India, to protect local jobs and manufacturing. But the move also comes amid U.S.