Here are five things you need to know this morning
Canada makes new U.S. trade proposals
Intergovernmental Affairs minister Dominic LeBlanc says Canada has made new and detailed proposals on trade to the U.S.. After a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, LeBlanc refused to share details of the proposals but downplayed suggestions that Canada was being left behind Mexico. Discussions with U.S. policymakers will continue in the coming days — but he also warned that talks could still take a negative turn and that “turbulence” is to be expected. Mexico has already begun bilateral negotiations with the U.S. on renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
U.S. proposes new tariffs due to forced labour
Meanwhile the United States is proposing tariffs of 10 per cent or more on products from trading partners they suspect were made with forced labour. Canada, Mexico, Taiwan and the United Kingdom will face the additional tax for failing to enforce a forced labour import ban according to a report. The new tariffs won’t take effect until public hearings take place.
Home sales jumped in Canada’s largest real estate market last month. Sales in Toronto rose by the most in 10 months as lower prices began to lure back buyers. Sales rose by 10 per cent in May from April, the biggest month-to-month increase since last July. The seasonally adjusted benchmark price of a home dipped 0.2% from the previous month. Housing markets across Canada have been slumping, with prices falling 20 per cent on average since 2022.
The slide in the trading price of bitcoin is continuing. The largest cryptocurrency fell as much as 3.1% in early trading to US$65,391, deepening a drop that has this week erased about US$160 billion in market value. The slide began earlier in the week after leading crypto investor Strategy Inc. sold about US$2.5 million worth of Bitcoin from a holding valued at over US$60 billion. The move has rattled sentiment, as speculative investors shift their focus to AI-related plays.
Zeddy is going national. Reborn Canadian discount retailer Zellers is expanding to Ontario. Two new locations are planned for Toronto and Windsor. There are plans to nationalize the chain with talks to open stores in Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa. The discount retailer currently has one location in Edmonton. Zellers – including its cartoon bear mascot- closed most of its stores in 2013 but kept a few liquidation outlets open until 2020, when the remainder shuttered. It began a relaunch last year.
