North America

Alberta will be holding a referendum in the fall to ask its residents if their government should limit "the number of" new international students and temporary foreign workers arriving in this oil-rich Canadian Province. Premier Danielle Smith announced the move in a television address on Thursday night. It was an attempt to take control of this important issue away from the federal government. Ottawa is responsible for the majority of immigration policy in Canada, and not the provinces. Smith is also trying to stop a growing Alberta separatist movement that has threatened Canadian unity, as Mark Carney tries to improve...

Congress may vote next week on whether to prevent 'President Donald Trump' from striking Iran without the approval of lawmakers. The U.S. Military is preparing for a possible serious conflict with Iran if diplomacy fails. Members of Congress have repeatedly tried to pass resolutions, which would prevent Trump from taking military action without the approval of lawmakers. The Constitution of the United States gives Congress, not the president, the power to send U.S. troops into war. The Constitution gives Congress the power to send U.S. soldiers to war, except for limited strikes to protect national security. Last week, it was...

The European Commission approved a new trusteeship on Friday that will give Berlin long-term control of the German assets owned by the Russian oil group Rosneft. This is part of the efforts to find a structural solution for the company. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany's long-standing energy relationship with Russia was shaken. It is necessary to renew the trusteeship every six months in order to?preserve energy security'. This creates uncertainty, mainly regarding the PCK Schwedt Refinery which supplies the majority of fuel to Berlin. The current trusteeship ends on March 10, 2019. The transaction that was examined by...

Indian share benchmarks recovered from initial jitters to rise?by mid-day on Friday as heavyweight stocks clawed back some?of the previous session's loss. As of 12:11 p.m. IST, the Nifty '50?added 0.54%, to 25,592.6. The BSE Sensex rose 0.48%, to 82897.3. The indexes had dropped about 0.3% on the opening, adding to a drop of 1.5% in the previous session. This was their biggest single-day decline in over two weeks. 15 of 16 major sectors were higher. The small-caps, mid-caps, and large-caps all added 0.1% to 0.5% respectively. Naveen Vyas is the head of the?family office of Anand Rathi Global Finance....

Alberta will hold a referendum in the fall asking residents whether the government should limit?the number of international students, 'temporary foreign workers' and asylum seekers who?arrive?into the oil-rich Canadian Province. Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith announced the move in a television address on Thursday night. It is an attempt to take control of this important issue away from the federal government. Ottawa is responsible for the majority of immigration policy in Canada, and not the provinces. This is a blow to Canadian unity at a time when the Prime Minister Mark Carney is trying to improve relations with resource-rich western provinces,...

Workers at the facilities reported that the Venezuelan refining system is running 'at around 35% of its capacity installed of 1.29 million barrels a day. This is higher than the 20% to 25% of last year but still a small volume for securing enough fuel to satisfy the rising domestic demand. Refineries in South America, run by the state-owned energy company PDVSA are often hit by power failures and malfunctions, which limit fuel supplies to homes, power plants, and vehicles. Venezuela was forced to ration cooking gas, gasoline and diesel in the past. According to sources, Amuay Cardon?El Palito Puerto...

Data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative on Thursday showed that crude oil exports by the world's biggest oil exporter dropped to 6,988 million barrels a day. This is down from 7.378 million barrels a day in November and the lowest since September. Saudi Arabian crude production reached its highest level since April 2023 in December. In November, the output was 10.050 millions bpd. The crude oil used in Saudi Arabia was either refined into products or exported. This is despite a moderately higher production of crude. Riyadh, along with other members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), provides...

Reliance and Adani, two of India's largest conglomerates, are increasing their investments in?AI infrastructure and data. Reliance has committed about $110 billion while Adani has pledged $100 billion. Both companies want to establish India as a hub for AI. India offers tax breaks to foreign companies operating out of domestic data centres. It also takes measures to attract more AI talent. Mukesh Amani, chairman of Reliance Industries, said that cheaper computing would spur innovation. His company wants to apply the same strategy it used in 2016 to disrupt the telecom industry by slashing prices for data and expanding access. The...

This week, senior executives from artificial intelligence companies around the world joined world leaders for an AI summit in?India. Here is a list of the major deals that were struck during the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. JIO INVESTS $110 BILLION IN INDIA'S RELIANCE INDUSTRIES Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire chairman of Reliance Industries, said that Jio and Reliance Industries will invest $109.8 Billion over the next seven-year period to build artificial intelligence infrastructure and data infrastructure. INDIA'S ADANI GROUP WILL COMMIT $100 BILLION?FOR AI-DATA CENTRES THROUGHOUT 2030 Adani Group, a port-to-power company, announced on Tuesday that it would...

U.S. officials reported that General Francis Donovan and Joseph Humire, a senior Pentagon official, made a surprise visit to Venezuela for security discussions on Wednesday. This is the first trip by a U.S. Military delegation since U.S. Forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month in an audacious operation and whisked to New York for drug-trafficking accusations. First reported by. The Venezuelan government reported that the U.S. delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodriquez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. Both sides have agreed to collaborate to fight drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration. Padrino and?Cabello both face...

The administration of President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Japan would?finance three projects worth $36 billion, including an oil-export facility in Texas, a diamond plant in Georgia, and a natural-gas power plant in Ohio. Trump stated on Truth Social that the projects were part of Japan's $550 Billion U.S. Investment pledge, as part a trade agreement that reduced Trump's tariffs against Japanese imports by 15%. Trump gave very few details on the projects. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the Portsmouth, Ohio, power plant would be the world's largest natural gas-fired generation facility with a capacity?9.2...

On Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway announced a new investment into the New York Times. This marks its return to a sector that Warren Buffett abandoned in 2020 after he sold off his conglomerate’s newspaper business. In after-hours trading, shares of the Times increased by 4% to $76,99. Berkshire reported that it held about 5,07 million Times shares valued at $351.7 million by the end of 2025 in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Berkshire filed its U.S. listed stock holdings, which made up the majority of equity in the Omaha-based company. Berkshire also said that it sold 4%...

The price of rare Earths has risen sharply, pushing the market price above the minimum price guaranteed by the U.S. government in its groundbreaking deal with domestic producer MP Materials. The good news is that the U.S. government will not be subsidizing MP Materials' production of neodymium, praseodymium or NdPr as long as the price remains above the critical threshold at $110 per kilogram. Since signing the agreement with the Department of Defense in July last year, the innovative 'floor-price' mechanism has protected the U.S. National champion from low prices. DoD earns 30% on the price increase. The problem is...

Greenland's prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded "no thanks", on Sunday, to the idea of U.S. President Donald 'Trump' to send a hospital boat to Greenland. Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to takeover this territory. Trump announced on social media on Saturday that he is working with Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Governor and special envoy for Greenland to send a hospital boat to Greenland. "President Trump’s idea to send an American?hospital boat here to Greenland was noted. We do have a free public healthcare system. Nielsen said in a Facebook post that it was a "deliberate choice". Nielsen said...

The prices of copper, aluminium, and other base metals rose on Friday as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned sweeping tariffs that were imposed by President Donald Trump in accordance with a law meant to address national emergencies. London?Metal Exchange benchmark 3-month copper increased 0.8% to $12,917 per metric ton at 1720 GMT. It had previously reached $12,985.50, its highest level in a week. Aluminium also rose 1.2% to $3103.50. The ruling is "constructive" for base metals, as it reduces the near-term risk to global trade flows and demand. The upside will likely be limited, however, given that some sector-specific duties...

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the White House emergency tariffs were invalid. This was a victory for thousands of businesses. The refund process?has just begun. The court's decision could have a ripple effect on the global economy. It ruled that Donald Trump cannot use the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to levy a broad?tariff on imports. The corporate world spent months adapting to Trump's constantly-evolving policy on trade and his use of tariffs to advance his agenda. Not only to address trade issues, but also to act as a weapon against the policies...

Futures for Canada’s main stock index increased?on Friday as gold prices continued to rise amid rising concerns about a possible conflict between the United States and Iran. As of 5:16 a.m., March futures?on S&P/TSX -composite index rose 0.3%. ET. Toronto's benchmark stock index reached a new record on Thursday, despite Wall Street ending lower. This was due to gains in commodity stocks. The benchmark index is expected to rise for a third straight week. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, warned Iran Thursday that "really bad" things could happen if it fails to reach an "meaningful agreement" over its nuclear program...

Anglo American reported a $3.7billion loss on Friday, after another writedown of its diamonds business. The miner is pushing ahead with plans to shed its non-core assets as well as complete its merger with?Teck Resources. Anglo has wrapped up an uneven reporting season for London listed mining groups. This highlights the divergent fortunes of the industry as Antofagasta benefitted from rising copper prices, while other diversified peers suffered due to weaker markets in iron ore and diamonds. The company recorded a $2.3bn pre-tax impairment on its De Beers division, reducing carrying value from over $4bn to $2.3bn. Analysts' estimates of...

Newmont beat Wall Street expectations for the fourth quarter profit, as a record rally boosted gold prices and offset lower production. The company also announced that it would spend $1.4 billion on developing assets acquired by its acquisition of Newcrest. After-market trading saw shares of the largest gold mining company in the world rise 2% to $127.96. In recent months, gold prices have reached multiple records, due to expectations of U.S. interest-rate reductions, increased geopolitical tensions, and economic uncertainty. The yellow metal's price averaged $4.135 per ounce during the last three quarters of 2025. This is up 56% compared to...

Takahiko iwai, chief financial officer at Nippon Steel, said that the company does not see a need to reduce capacity at U.S. Steel. Instead, it expects this business to contribute a profit in fiscal 2026. This is up from zero last year. Iwai said in an interview that while?urgent? steps are necessary to improve the U.S. firm's high cost structure, similar capacity reductions to those implemented by Japan in the early 2020s is not needed because U.S. demand for steel is increasing. Iwai stated that "U.S. Steel has steadily improved through capital expenditure effects," adding that about 100 Nippon Steel...

Vale Base Metals agreed to sell its majority stake in the Thompson Nickel Belt Mine in Manitoba to an investor consortium, which would create a new nickel-producing company in Canada. Exiro Minerals of Toronto, Orion Resources Partners and Canada Growth Fund are part of the consortium. Brazilian mining company Vale has agreed to sign a five-year agreement for the off-take of its 18.9% stake in Exiro Nickel. The new consortium will invest $200 million in order to revive a mine that Vale had been reviewing since last year, when the price of nickel fell to its lowest level in five...

The main Canadian stock index was a little subdued Thursday as declines in healthcare and financial shares overshadowed gains in energy stocks. As of 10:15 a.m., the S&P/TSX composite index was down 0.06%, at 33,368.79. ET. Bausch Health, a specialty pharmaceutical firm, fell 4.1% following a quarter-end loss. Healthcare shares were down 1.8%. Wall Street's main indexes fell on Thursday. Heavyweight technology stocks dropped after recent gains. The TSX tech stocks fell by 1.4% after a strong session. Heavyweight Financials fell by 0.8% The TSX Energy Index gained the most, 2%. Oil prices reached a six-month high amid fears of...

Gold and oil prices rose on Thursday as investors assessed the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve. As of 5:30 a.m., March futures for the S&P/TSX 'composite index' had fallen 0.37%. ET. Toronto's benchmark stock index rose 1.5% on Tuesday as shares in technology companies rebounded following a easing of concerns about AI disruption. Miners also gained due to the strength of precious metals. In their January meeting, Federal Reserve policymakers had a split opinion on the next steps. "Several" were open to rate increases if inflation remains high and others would support more cuts if it declined as expected....

Molson Coors, a beer maker, forecast a sharp decline in its annual profit on Wednesday. The company was hurt by increased aluminum tariffs and sluggish?spending from price-sensitive consumers. The brewer's shares fell 6% after the bell, as it also missed revenue estimates for the fourth quarter. According to LSEG data, the company that produces Miller Lite and its namesake beer expects adjusted earnings per share in 2026 to drop between 11% to 15%. This compares to estimates of a rise of 1.9% to $5.48. The forecast is a downbeat one as newly appointed CEO Rahul Ghoyal tries to turn the...