Musemio co-founder and CEO Olga Kravchenko details what it’s like as a business owner in Ukraine amid war with Russia.
The United States and its allies continue to ramp up the economic pressure on Russia following the country’s decision to invade Ukraine. Here is a FOX Business roundup of actions taken against Russia thus far.
Temporary halting of Russian company stock trading on NYSE, Nasdaq
On Monday, the New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading of select Russian-based companies, including Mechel PAO American Depositary Shares, Mobile TeleSystems Public Joint Stock Company and Cian PLC American Depositary Shares.
Sources familiar with exchanges tell FOX Business that the halts, which can be used for unusual trading in any security, will allow time for officials to review the fast-moving developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict that are impacting the shares.
Freezing Russian central bank asset transactions
In conjunction and cooperation with the European Union, Japan, the U.K., Canada, and others, the United States has effectively frozen financial transactions of Russian central bank assets held by Americans, a senior administration official told reporters during a briefing on Monday.
The intended effect is to cripple the Russian economy and use up the country’s “rainy day fund” as its currency, the ruble, plummets in value, the official said. That rainy day fund was built up to defend against economic consequences when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.
According to the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), this is not a complete and total block of the central bank, as OFAC is authorizing certain transactions with Russia’s central bank that are “energy-related.” OFAC added that additional authorizations could follow if necessary.
SWIFT provides messaging services to banks in over 200 countries, and is controlled by the central banks of the G-10, including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, and Sweden.
In addition, the statement noted that the group of countries would launch a “transatlantic task force” aimed at effectively implementing the financial sanctions, “step up” coordination against disinformation regarding the Russian invasion, and limit “golden passports” that allow wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government to become citizens of the countries.
Export controls
On Thursday, the Commerce Department unveiled sweeping export controls from its Bureau of Industry and Security that would severely restrict Russia’s access to technologies and other items used by its defense, aerospace and maritime sectors.
Items targeted by the export controls include semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers and sensors. In addition, BIS’s rule imposes stringent controls on 49 Russian military end users, which have been added to its entity list.
The European Union, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand announced that they would implement “substantially similar restrictions.”
Sanctions’ potential economic impact and Russia’s response
JPMorgan told clients in a research note reviewed by FOX Business on Monday that sanctions announced against Russia could have a “severe” impact on the country’s economy.
“We tentatively assume that Russia’s economy will contract 20% [quarter-over-quarter], saar, in 2Q, and for the year around 3.5%. But the margin of error for any such guesstimate is incredibly high at this point, and risks are skewed heavily to the downside,” the note reads. ” Moreover, we believe Russia’s growing political and economic isolation will curtail Russia’s growth potential in years to come and lower Russia’s trend growth to 1.0%, down from 1.75% previously.”
The bank’s researchers estimate that Russian inflation could stand at 10% at year-end, up from 5.3%, with risks heavily skewed to the upside.
In response to the sanctions, Russia’s central bank has raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% to counter risks of rouble depreciation and higher inflation, ordered companies to sell 80% of their foreign currency revenues and restarted gold buying.
Fox Business’ Suzanne O’Halloran, Paul Conner, Ronn Blitzer and Adam Sabes contributed to this report
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
