President Financial News

Alberta’s proven natural gas reserves have increased nearly sixfold to 130 trillion cubic feet since they were last assessed, according to a new study, giving Canada’s oilpatch leaders something to show off this week at a Texas oil summit in hopes of turning heads and capital flows northward.

US government agency that runs the Voice of America has moved to terminate contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, and told its journalists Friday to stop using material from the wire services, as per a report. Kari Lake, the former broadcaster turned Republican politician who was selected by President Donald Trump to run VOA, estimated the move would save $53 million, AP reported. The new administration has quickly asserted its authority at VOA, which has delivered news from an American perspective to countries across the world. While awaiting official approval to take over, Lake was brought on as special adviser at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA and sister organizations like Radio Free Europe. She announced via social media on Thursday that she was ending the «expensive and unnecessary contracts» with the wire services. «We should not be paying outside news organizations to tell us what the news is,» said Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for Arizona governor. «With a nearly billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves. And if that's not possible, the American taxpayer should demand to know why.»

global commodity markets as they navigate the mounting challenges posed by US President Donald Trump's erratic and inconsistent trade policies. While the media focus on each headline-grabbing announcement and social media post about new and retaliatory tariffs from the US leader and his administration, commodity markets are busy doing what they have done so well in the past, adapting to rapidly changing circumstances. For commodities it's important to make distinctions between those already being affected by Trump's trade policies, those likely to be in the future, and those unlikely to suffer direct impact, but which might feel second-round effects from a slowing world economy. The first group includes steel and aluminium, with Trump's 25% tariffs on all imports of the metals having started. The main impact is likely to be price increases for steel and aluminium in the United States, as domestic producers have limited scope to boost output significantly.

Infosys co-founder, Narayana Murthy, while speaking at the TiECon Mumbai on Wednesday commented on the rising hype around artificial intelligence (AI) in India, claiming that many systems marketed today as AI were simply traditional programming. “I think somehow it has become a fashion in India to talk of AI for everything. I have seen several normal, ordinary programs touted as AI,” Murthy commented during the annual entrepreneurial conference.

A statement by ministers meeting in Canada mirrored a February Japan-U.S. statement in condemning «coercion» toward Taiwan, language that heartened Taipei in its increasingly tense standoffs with Beijing. Compared to a G7 foreign ministers' statement in November, the statement added members' concerns over China's nuclear buildup, although it omitted references to their concerns about Beijing's human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Also missing were references stressing the desire for «constructive and stable relations with China» and recognizing the «importance of direct and candid engagement to express concerns and manage differences.» The statement dropped past reassurances, recently stated in November, that there is «no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated One-China policies,» as well as that the G7 is «not decoupling or turning inwards» and recognizing the importance of China in global trade.

Mark Carney, who navigated crises when he was the head of the Bank of Canada from 2008, and then in 2013 when he became the first noncitizen to run the Bank of England — helping to manage the worst impacts of Brexit in the U.K. — will now try to steer Canada through the trade war brought by Trump. Mark Carney's path to the top job in Canadian politics has been unusual but, as he said when he launched his campaign to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, so are the circumstances. Former central banker Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister on Friday, and will now try to steer his country through a trade war brought by U.S. President Donald Trump, a threat of annexation and an expected federal election. Carney, 59, replaces Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation in January but remained in power until the Liberal Party elected a new leader. Carney is widely expected to trigger a general election in the coming days or weeks. Carney has called the threats posed by US President Donald Trump «the most serious crisis of our lifetime.»

Meeting at a rustic hotel in rural Quebec, G7 foreign ministers also backed Ukraine's fight for its «territorial integrity» and spoke of Russia's «aggression,» terminology earlier eschewed by Trump as he reached out to Moscow. The consensus on Ukraine came despite mounting tension within the G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States as Trump slaps punishing tariffs on allies and questions the very sovereignty of host Canada. A G7 statement backed a US-led call for a 30-day truce embraced by Ukraine and «called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully.» «They discussed imposing further costs on Russia in case such a ceasefire is not agreed, including through further sanctions, caps on oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine, and other means,» such as using frozen Russian assets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Alcohol has landed on the front lines of a global trade war, throwing French wines, Irish whiskeys, Kentucky bourbon, Japanese beer and Mexican tequila into the crossfire between the U.S. and its biggest trading partners.

Hamas said on Friday it agreed to release an American-Israeli dual national, believed to be the last living American hostage held in Gaza, after receiving a proposal from mediators to continue negotiations on the second phase of a ceasefire deal. Hamas said in a statement that it responded «positively» to the proposal that was presented on Thursday to resume negotiations. It will also release the bodies of four other dual nationality hostages, it said without giving further details. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Meetings between Hamas leaders and U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days sought the release of Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old man from New Jersey, who served as a soldier with the Israeli military.

Saina Nehwal and PR Sreejesh, have written a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential candidates, urging them to make climate action their top priority. As IOC members gather in Costa Navarino, Greece, to vote on the seven candidates next week (March 18-21), the Olympians called for stronger commitments from the IOC to cut carbon emissions, promote sustainability in host cities, set clear guidelines on polluting sponsors and use its platform to advocate for climate action. Climate impacts are «no longer a distant threat, but a current and growing harm to the sports we love and to the countries that make up our Olympic family», the letter said. The signatories include 57 Olympic champions and over 100 Olympic flag bearers. They represent some of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, including Argentina, Aruba, the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Recognizing that extreme weather events are already disrupting the Summer and Winter Olympics and affecting athlete performance and safety, the letter urges decisive action to ensure the games remain accessible and safe for future generations. Earlier this year, massive wildfires burned large areas of Los Angeles, the host city of the 2028 Olympic Games. The fires killed about 30 people, destroyed thousands of buildings, and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is planning to invoke a sweeping wartime authority known as the Alien Enemies Act in an effort to speed up deportations, according to an official familiar with the discussions. Here’s what to know: The Alien Enemies Act was first passed in 1798 and has been seldom used since.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A massive military buildup across Europe could achieve what governments have failed to do in years: jump-start a sluggish economy, seed new innovations and create new industries. Countries from the U.K.

Russia said Friday it expected Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump would discuss a US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine, but that US envoy Steve Witkoff needed to relay Putin's thoughts to the American president first. Witkoff met the Russian president late Thursday to lay out the details of the US plan, which Ukraine agreed to on Tuesday. «When Mr Witkoff brings all the information to President Trump, we will determine the timing of a conversation (between Trump and Putin),» Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. «There is an understanding on all sides that such a conversation is needed. There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic,» Peskov added. «There is still much to be done, but the president has nevertheless identified with President Trump's position.»

NASA and SpaceX on Friday will count down to a long-awaited crewed rocket launch that will allow them to bring home U.S. astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stuck on the International Space Station for nine months. SpaceX and the U.S. space agency had planned on Wednesday to launch from Florida a replacement crew of four astronauts, a mission called Crew-10, but a last-minute issue with the rocket's ground systems forced a delay. Now slated for liftoff at 7:03 p.m. ET Friday (2330GMT), the Crew-10's arrival to the ISS on Saturday night will allow the return of Wilmore and Williams, two veteran NASA astronauts and U.S. Navy test pilots who in June 2024 were the first humans to test-fly Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the ISS in June. But problems with Starliner's propulsion system during its flight to the ISS delayed what was expected to be an eight-day stay. NASA deemed it too risky for the astronauts to fly home on the Boeing craft, which led to the current plan to bring them home in a SpaceX capsule. It has also become entangled in politics as President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO, claim without evidence President Joe Biden left «Butch and Suni» on the station for political reasons.

The premium carmaker expects its earnings margin for cars to be 5-7% in 2025, below an LSEG consensus estimate of 7.3%, dragged down one percentage point by the impact of tariffs already imposed by March 12.

Treasury Department releases numbers on how much money the US government took in and paid out the previous one. You can get them straight from the source, or in simplified form at the Hamilton Project’s Tracking Federal Expenditures in Real Time site. What they show so far is that, despite all the noise from Washington about layoffs and canceled programs and other cutbacks, the federal government has been spending money faster since President Trump took office on Jan.

Putin expressed gratitude to Donald Trump and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, among other world leaders, for their «noble mission» to resolve the conflict. Speaking at a joint press briefing in Moscow with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said he is «grateful» to all the leaders for their efforts towards the goal. «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to,» Putin told reporters. «But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life,» Putin said. It may be recalled that Modi had repeatedly called for peace over the last three years while resisting huge pressure from the Western powers to take sides in the war.

Piyush Goyal on Friday said that he had a «forward looking» discussion with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on a mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement. «Our approach will be guided by 'India First', 'Viksit Bharat' and our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership,» the Commerce Minister wrote on his X timeline, sharing a photograph of the meeting. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal was in the US last week. His visit to the US followed US President Donald Trump and PM Modi's plans to negotiate the first tranche of a mutually beneficial, multi-sector Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by the fall of 2025. The two leaders had committed to designating senior representatives to advance these negotiations. During the recent meeting between President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two leaders resolved to expand trade and investment to make their citizens more prosperous, nations stronger, economies more innovative, and supply chains more resilient. They resolved to deepen the US-India trade relationship to promote growth that ensures fairness, national security and job creation. To this end, the leaders set a bold new goal for bilateral trade — "Mission 500" — aiming to more than double total bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030.

Iran's clerical leaders, engaging with the «Great Satan» to hammer out a nuclear deal and ease crippling sanctions may for once be the lesser of two evils. Though it harbours deep mistrust of the United States, and President Donald Trump in particular, Tehran is increasingly concerned that mounting public anger over economic hardships could erupt into mass protests, four Iranian officials said. That's why, despite the unyielding stance and defiant rhetoric of Iran's clerical leaders in public, there is a pragmatic willingness within Tehran's corridors of power to strike a deal with Washington, the people said. Tehran's concerns were exacerbated by Trump's speedy revival of his first term's «maximum pressure» campaign to drive Iran's oil exports towards zero with more sanctions and bring the country's already fragile economy to its knees, they said. President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly highlighted the severity of the economic situation in the Islamic Republic, stating that it is more challenging than during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and pointing this month to the latest round of U.S. sanctions targeting tankers carrying Iranian oil.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. US President Donald Trump and his team are sending a message: Hang in there through the economic turmoil, and better days will come. A little sacrifice for the greater good may not be such a bad thing.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of manipulating the ceasefire proposal, stating that Moscow is crowding the idea with preconditions designed to delay or derail progress. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, «Right now, we have all heard from Russia Putin's highly predictable and manipulative words in response to the idea of a ceasefire on the front lines--at this moment he is, in fact, preparing to reject it.» He argued that while Ukraine has accepted the US-backed proposal for an unconditional ceasefire on land, at sea, and in the air, Russia continues to create obstacles to avoid a resolution. Zelenskyy asserted that Putin is reluctant to admit his desire to continue the war and is instead using tactics to complicate negotiations. «Of course, Putin is afraid to tell President Trump directly that he wants to continue this war and keep killing Ukrainians.