Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers would continue working together despite the departure of the United Arab Emirates, Russian news agencies reported. According to ​the reports, Novak said he did not expect an oil price war to emerge following ​the UAE's exit given a global oil deficit. The UAE said on Tuesday it was ⁠quitting OPEC, dealing a blow to the oil producers' group as an unprecedented energy crisis triggered ​by the Iran war exposes discord among Gulf nations. The UAE was the fourth-largest producer in OPEC+, which ​comprises OPEC and its allies, while Russia is second, behind Saudi Arabia. "In the current situation, it is hard to talk about a price war when there is a shortage in the market. What we are seeing instead is ​the deepest crisis in the industry," Novak was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

The Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold at 3.75 per cent Thursday as policy-makers assess the economic impact of the Iran war and Tehran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude passes. The decision was widely expected and echoes the decision of other central banks facing higher prices as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. On Wednesday, the Bank of Canada and U.S. Federal Reserve kept rates on hold, a day after the Bank of Japan did so too. The European Central Bank also left interest rates unchanged as expected on Thursday, but signalled rising concerns over soaring inflation, bolstering bets it would lift rates several times this year with an initial move in June.

French car maker Renault Group's Chairman ​Jean-Dominique Senard said on ‌Thursday that he will not seek a new term ​at the end of ​his current term in ⁠spring 2027. "I will not ​stay on for one ​term too many, and I will make it my priority to ​ensure an orderly ​succession, guided by a single obsession: ‌safeguarding ⁠the interests of the company and its teams," he said at the ​Renault shareholders' ​meeting.The ⁠announcement confirms an earlier report by Reuters. A ​former top executive at ​tyre ⁠manufacturer Michelin, Senard was appointed as Renault chairman ⁠in ​2019.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he would stay on the central bank’s board after his chairmanship ends next month to defend the institution from what he called unprecedented legal attacks from the Trump administration. His decision marks a departure from decades of precedent and overshadowed deepening divisions over the path for interest rates. Powell announced his decision Wednesday after officials extended an interest-rate pause but split over whether to continue hinting at further rate cuts, an uncharacteristically contentious end to Powell’s eight-year chairmanship. His term as chair ends May 15 but a separate term as governor allows Powell to remain at the Fed until early 2028. For decades, Fed chairs have left the building when their successor is installed.

Michael Rousseau, le président-directeur général d’Air Canada, qui multiplie les controverses linguistiques depuis sa nomination en 2021, n’aura finalement pas à comparaître devant le Comité permanent des langues officielles à Ottawa. Radio-Canada a obtenu copie de la motion déposée à huis clos par le Comité dans les derniers jours. On y explique que la récente sortie publique de M. Rousseau – qui y annonçait son départ d’ici le 30 septembre prochain – a changé la donne. Qui plus est, le Comité doute de la pertinence de convoquer M. Rousseau considérant que ses dernières convocations n’ont amené presque aucun progrès.  Michael Rousseau a comparu à plusieurs reprises devant le Comité permanent des langues officielles sans démontrer de progrès significatif quant au respect de ses engagements d’améliorer sa capacité à s’exprimer en français, peut-on lire dans la motion du Comité.

Italian luxury yacht-maker Ferretti was being held back by a “lack of industrial vision” and its large ​Chinese shareholder's aversion to risk, its chief executive ‌told the Financial Times. CEO Alberto Galassi's comments come as the company's two largest shareholders - Chinese state-owned conglomerate Weichai Group and ​Czech investor KKCG Maritime - set the stage ​for a proxy battle at the company's annual ⁠meeting on May 14. Galassi said “management changes at Weichai have ​constrained decision-making at Ferretti and the lack of industrial ​vision is weighing negatively on the group", in an interview with the FT published on Thursday. KKCG Maritime submitted a list of ​nominees, including KKCG's founder, Karel Komarek, for president, and ​proposed confirming Galassi as chief executive. The Czech firm, which last month increased ‌its ⁠stake to around 23% of Ferretti's capital, said it wanted to overhaul the firm's board, currently dominated by representatives of China's Weichai Group, which has a ​39.5% stake. Weichai's slate ​contains no ⁠explicit nominee for the chief executive role, and proposes Executive Director Tan Ning ​as chair.

The United Nations is finally building a global carbon market, and it may be overengineering it. Under the Paris Agreement, the Article 6.4 mechanism, formally known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM), is designed to create a unified system for generating and trading carbon credits across countries. In simple terms, it turns emissions reductions into tradable assets that can ​be bought and used elsewhere. It is meant to fix a problem that has plagued carbon markets for years: credibility. The recent appointment of Trovio to ‌operate the mechanism’s registry, the infrastructure that tracks credits, signals that the system is moving from theory to execution. After years of negotiation and discussion, the Article 6.4 mechanism is no longer conceptual. It is happening. But as the mechanism comes into focus, a more uncomfortable question is emerging: what if this rigorous solution is too good at solving the wrong problem?

After a joke by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel drew calls from the White House for ABC to fire the comedian, ​the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered an early license review of the network's television stations. The standoff between President Donald Trump's administration and the global ‌entertainment conglomerate is the first crisis facing Walt Disney’s new CEO Josh D’Amaro. Unlike the last battle with Kimmel that centered on free speech, this time the FCC is targeting Disney's track record of diversity and inclusion practices, according to the order. The review names eight ABC stations owned by Disney. Disney has until May 28 to respond.

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, but warned that interest rates may need to change depending on the duration of the oil price shock and the outcome of trade talks with the United States and Mexico. As widely expected, the bank’s governing council kept its policy rate at 2.25 per cent for the fourth consecutive time, even as the conflict in the Middle East has pushed energy prices sharply higher and squeezed Canadian consumers at the gas pump. Governor Tiff Macklem said his team decided to “look through” the energy price shock in the near term. But he said the trajectory of monetary policy will depend to a significant degree on how long oil prices remain elevated – something that’s contingent on the outcome of peace talks between the United States and Iran.

La transaction, qui avait été annoncée au début du mois, a été conclue lundi. Elle découlait du processus de vente et de sollicitation d’investissements mené sous la supervision de la Cour supérieure et de Raymond Chabot. La Financière Outremont a ainsi mis la main sur la majorité des actifs de Groupe Colabor et de ceux de ses filiales Les Pêcheries Norref Québec et Transport Paul-Émile Dubé. Aux prises avec des difficultés financières, Colabor s’est placé à l’abri de ses créanciers en janvier. L’entreprise s’est trouvée acculée au pied du mur après avoir été frappée par une attaque informatique juste après s’être endettée pour conclure une acquisition.

Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla will end a four-day state visit to the U.S. on Thursday with a formal farewell with U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in Washington. The king is then expected to lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River in Virginia, a sacred site for many Americans where tens of thousands of the country’s war dead are buried, as well as two presidents and some former Supreme Court justices. The royal visit to the U.S., officially to commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from British rule, came at a time of tensions between Britain and the U.S., with Trump having criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he says is his lack of help in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The head of an organization that oversaw a $300-million federal digital prescription service has been removed in the midst of a probe by a parliamentary committee into how the program failed. The board of Canada Health Infoway, a government-funded non-profit, dismissed Michael Green as chief executive officer on Wednesday after more than 11 years in the role. Board chair Peter Vaughan said in a statement that the decision was effective immediately. Canada Health Infoway launched a program called PrescribeIT in 2017 as part of “axe the fax” initiatives to replace fax machines with digital alternatives, in this case transmitting prescriptions from doctors’ offices to pharmacies digitally.

Weir Group reported a fall in first-quarter orders on Thursday, sending the British engineering firm's shares down as much as 10%, even ​as it reiterated its annual outlook and promoted the head of its biggest business to CEO. The ​company, focused heavily on services to the mining sector, said Chief Executive ⁠Jon Stanton will step down after nearly a decade in the role and be succeeded in ​August by the president of its minerals division, Andrew Neilson. The update comes as global demand for ​critical and rare-earth minerals such as nickel and cobalt continues to accelerate, driven by electric vehicles, grid expansion, a renewable energy push and data‑centre growth linked to AI.

Canada is set to host a proposed mulitlateral defence bank designed to help fund the rearmament of nations facing ​heightened geopolitical risks, the country's finance ministry said in a ‌statement late on Wednesday. The statement said Canada had been working in Montreal with allies to agree a founding charter for the planned Defence, Security and Resilience ​Bank (DSRB). The other countries were not identified. The DSRB has been proposed ​by former NATO security advisers, senior ex-military personnel and ⁠bankers. Its aim is to found a triple-A rated institution capable of ​raising 100 billion pounds ($135 billion) to fund defence projects, particularly in countries ​that may struggle to access cheaper finance.

A group of Alphabet shareholders are pressing the company to explain how it governs and controls the use of its technology ​and cloud services by governments for surveillance after the tech giant rejected calls for greater disclosure. In a letter ‌to Alphabet, seen by Reuters, the group asked for a meeting with management after the Google owner opposed a shareholder resolution seeking a report on how it oversees the related risks. "Cloud-based services are a growing segment, and it's getting more and more militarized," said Marcela Pinilla, director of sustainable investing ​at Zevin Asset Management, which wrote the letter signed by 42 organizations and 14 individuals managing a combined $1.15 trillion in ​assets.

Britain's Whitbread said on Thursday it will shut its 197 remaining branded restaurants and start selling more meals at its ​hotels, potentially cutting about 3,800 jobs as it battles pressure from UK property taxes and ​an activist investor. Whitbread had been exploring ways to boost returns after the ⁠UK budget left Britain's largest hotel operator saddled with higher costs. The company was already converting ​some underperforming restaurants into hotel rooms and was urged by activist investor Corvex in December to review ​its strategy. A surge in energy prices triggered by the war in the Middle East is expected to compound difficulties for the hospitality sector, which had already been hit by weak consumer spending and increased costs. Whitbread said it will ​take a 5 million pound hit this year from the impact of the Iran war ​on hotels in the Middle East.

Conversations with the federal and British Columbia governments have “raised the likelihood” of the LNG Canada export terminal expansion in Kitimat, B.C., says Wael Sawan, Shell PLC’s SHEL-N chief executive, with a decision on the project expected in the coming months. Mr. Sawan’s comments come on the heels of Shell’s announcement Monday that it is buying Calgary-based ARC Resources Ltd. – the largest pure-play producer in the Montney basin, which straddles Alberta and northeast British Columbia. The US$16.4-billion deal will significantly boost Shell’s holdings in the region, which is a crucial supplier of natural gas to LNG Canada. Shell holds a 40-per-cent share in the terminal, whose liquefied natural gas can reach Asian markets faster than most other North American suppliers. While there has been no final investment decision made on the second phase of the terminal, it is on the list of five projects that Prime Minister Mark Carney has said will be reviewed for fast-track approval under Ottawa’s Building Canada Act.

Dans son énoncé économique présenté mardi, le ministre des Finances, François-Philippe Champagne, estime que le déficit pour l’exercice financier 2025-2026 s’établira finalement à 66,9 milliards de dollars, à 11,4 milliards de moins que le manque à gagner de 78,3 milliards qu’il voyait dans sa boule de cristal quand il a déposé son premier budget, en novembre dernier. Le déficit aurait été encore légèrement inférieur, soit environ 60,6 milliards, n’eût été de nouvelles mesures annoncées depuis le début de l’année, notamment les 3,1 milliards pour la nouvelle Allocation canadienne pour l’épicerie et les besoins essentiels – une aide financière pour quelque 12 millions de Canadiens à faible revenu qui sera déposée sur leur compte de banque à compter du 5 juin. Le gouvernement Carney a aussi utilisé cette manne inattendue pour investir 1,7 milliard afin d’accélérer la construction de logements. L’amélioration du solde budgétaire aurait été du même ordre, soit d’environ 10,7 milliards par année en moyenne, pour les quatre prochains exercices financiers. Mais Ottawa a fait le choix d’utiliser cette hausse des revenus à d’autres fins.

À quatre mois de la campagne électorale, la première ministre a voulu couper l’herbe sous le pied de ses adversaires avec un allègement fiscal de 630 millions sur cinq pour 75 000 petites entreprises. Elle a choisi de faire son annonce mercredi en Beauce, terreau fertile aux PME, mais aussi au Parti conservateur du Québec qui milite pour des baisses d’impôt. Le chef libéral Charles Milliard et le chef péquiste Paul St-Pierre Plamondon ont tous deux promis de réduire le fardeau des PME en cas de prise du pouvoir. M. Milliard s’est engagé l’an dernier à baisser de 11,5 % à 10 % le taux général d’imposition des PME, un répit de 3000 $ dollars par année pour une entreprise dont le revenu imposable s’élève à 150 000 $. De son côté, M. St-Pierre Plamondon a promis en janvier un « allègement fiscal historique » pour les PME sans donner de détails.