Published: 2 hours ago
By Glen Hallick
Glacier FarmMedia | MarketsFarm – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.
- Middle East tensions increased on Wednesday, as Iran threatened to blockade the Red Sea should the United States continue its blockade of Iranian ports. It’s believed that Iran would rely on regional allies such as the Houthis in Yemen to carry out the blockade. The latest tit-for-tat comes as the United States-Iran ceasefire deal became more shaky ahead of its April 22 expiry.
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- U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that talks with Iran could resume within a couple of days. Negotiations to resolve the Middle East war over the weekend ended without an agreement and Trump quickly ordered a naval blockade of Iran. Reports said Iran has been willing to suspend its uranium enrichment program but failed to agree with the U.S. on a timeframe.
- On Wednesday, President Trump said he will remove Jerome Powell, the chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, should Powell attempt to remain a board governor after his term as chair expires on May 15. Powell’s term on the board does not expire for another two years. Trump continued to blame Powell for alleged cost overruns in renovations to the Fed’s headquarters, demanding the investigation continue.
- Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday his government will suspend the federal fuel excise tax on gasoline and diesel from April 20 to Sept. 7. That’s expected to lower gas prices by 10 cents per litre and trim diesel prices by four cents. Since the U.S. started the Middle East war in February, pump prices in some parts of Canada have soared by 40 cents per litre.
- Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday that manufacturing sales in February improved 3.6 per cent from January at C$71.2 billion. StatCan also said wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) were up two per cent in February at C$86.8 billion.
