Politics

Mazda Motor Corp. will pause exporting one model type to Canada that it makes in the US as a temporary countermeasure to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a spokesperson said Friday.

U.S. stocks linked to rare earth metals and other critical minerals gained this week, getting a boost from signs that the Trump administration will favor a sector that’s become a flashpoint in the trade standoff between the U.S. and China.

Across the country, Canadians are cancelling business trips, withdrawing from conferences and avoiding future bookings to the U.S. as the backlash against President Donald Trump hits the world of corporate travel.

Canadians poured a record amount into U.S. equities in February, even as a movement to boycott U.S. products and vacations gained momentum.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s termination from his position can’t come quickly enough, arguing that the central bank should have lowered interest rates already this year, and in any case should do so now.

Seven & i Holdings Co. plans a sweeping revamp of its board at its annual shareholders meeting next month as a part of its effort to boost the value of the Japanese retailer and fend off a US$47.5 billion takeover proposal by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Alcoa Corp., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, said U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25 per cent tariff on metal imports has cost the company US$20 million since the duties went into effect.

The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System bought up stocks last week after Donald Trump’s tariff program pummeled global markets.

Ontario is set to table legislation to make trade between provinces easier, as a way to shore up the economy against the effects of American tariffs.

Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries surged in February by the most since June 2021, with Canada and Japan among the biggest net buyers during a month that preceded the bond market’s recent turmoil.

S&P Global Ratings downgraded Canada’s second-largest province as the trade war with the US begins to hurt economic growth and government finances.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell again stressed the central bank must ensure tariffs don’t trigger a more persistent rise in inflation.

Chinese refiners are importing record amounts of Canadian crude after slashing purchases of U.S. oil by roughly 90 per cent amid escalating trade tensions.  

The Trump administration is fast-tracking a permit needed by Enbridge Inc. to build a disputed pipeline tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac in northern Michigan. 

It’s a tale of two economies for the Bank of Canada as it tries to predict outcomes of a global tariff war: a temporary stall in Canadian activity or an outright downturn that lasts a year.