logo
Canada rescinds digital services tax in bid to advance trade talks with US

Canada rescinds digital services tax in bid to advance trade talks with US

CNA12 hours ago

Canada has rescinded its digital services tax targeting United States technology firms in a bid to advance trade negotiations with the US, Canada's finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday (Jun 29), days after US President Donald Trump called off trade talks.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump will resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by Jul 21, 2025, the ministry said.
On Friday, Trump abruptly cut off trade talks with Canada over its tax targeting US technology firms, saying that it was a "blatant attack" and that he would set a new tariff rate on Canadian goods within the next week.
The tax was 3 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm takes in from Canadian users above US$20 million in a calendar year and payments will be retroactive to 2022.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump's administration finds Harvard violated students' civil rights, WSJ reports
Trump's administration finds Harvard violated students' civil rights, WSJ reports

Straits Times

timean hour ago

  • Straits Times

Trump's administration finds Harvard violated students' civil rights, WSJ reports

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Business School campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Faith Ninivaggi/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump's administration informed Harvard University that its investigation found the university violated federal civil-rights law over its treatment of Jewish and Israeli students, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. "Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government," the report quoted a letter sent to Harvard President Alan Garber on Monday and viewed by the Journal. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Trump has said he is trying to force change at Harvard - and other top-level universities across the U.S. - because in his view they have been captured by leftist "woke" thought and become bastions of antisemitism. The administration warned Harvard that failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources, the Wall Street Journal reported. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Ignoring a US$7 trillion financial disaster won't make it go away
Ignoring a US$7 trillion financial disaster won't make it go away

Business Times

time2 hours ago

  • Business Times

Ignoring a US$7 trillion financial disaster won't make it go away

IF YOU had the power to prevent not just one Great Depression but two, you probably would not hesitate to use it. But for some (not very mysterious) reason, that is pretty much what we do when we ignore an increasingly hot and violent climate. Two of the biggest myths about climate change are that, one, it is a problem for future generations, and two, trying to alleviate it will hurt economic growth. In fact, climate change is not just a challenge already for those of us lucky enough to be alive today, it is also an economic catastrophe. Ignoring it will be far more costly than fighting it. The latest evidence comes from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI), which this week estimated that climate-related disasters have cost the US economy at least US$6.6 trillion in higher insurance premiums, clean-up spending and other expenses over the past 12 years. Adjusted for inflation, that makes climate disasters already twice as expensive as the Great Depression's US$3.3 trillion in losses over the same time frame, BI estimates. Again, for those who fell asleep in that paragraph: Climate change is already twice as painful economically as the Great Depression. For now, climate costs are only half as expensive as the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent Great Recession, which kept economic growth below its full potential for a decade and immiserated a generation. But climate losses would have to grow by only 2 per cent a year over the next dozen years to become the biggest financial disaster in US history, by BI's estimate. Recent performance suggests 2 per cent per year is a low bar to clear. Annual climate losses have more than doubled from less than US$500 billion in 2013 to nearly US$1 trillion in the past 12 months, BI has found. Average annual growth over the past five years has been nearly 15 per cent. At that rate, climate costs will exceed the Great Recession's initial 12-year toll in just five more years. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 12.30 pm ESG Insights An exclusive weekly report on the latest environmental, social and governance issues. Sign Up Sign Up These figures are consistent with the growth in the number of US disasters inflicting at least US$1 billion in damage. The annual incidence of those doubled between 2012 and 2024, noted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), thanks not only to more destructive storms, but Americans' eagerness to set up house in the country's riskiest ZIP codes. Because disasters magically go away when you do not look at them, President Donald Trump's NOAA has stopped keeping track of this data. But already in 2025, there have been several natural catastrophes that each inflicted more than US$1 billion in losses, including January's Los Angeles wildfires and tornadoes, flooding and other severe weather in the central US. BI's damage estimates, like the NOAA's, are in some ways an undercount. They do not include the many thousands of American lives lost to extreme heat and other natural disasters over the past 12 years. Deaths from wildfire smoke alone could cause US$244 billion in annual economic losses by 2050, a recent working paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) reported. BI's estimates do not account for the profound long-term health effects of wildfire smoke, heat and other growing hazards of a chaotic climate. They also do not include the potential growth lost from dollars being diverted towards rebuilding and insurance, and away from more-productive investments. Economists are still trying to figure out how big the damage could get if the atmosphere heats beyond the 1.3 deg C above pre-industrial averages it has already warmed. Another NBER paper last year estimated that each 1 deg C of heating shaves 12 per cent from global GDP, meaning the 3 deg C path we are currently on would mean a global economy that is poorer by a third. There is still time to limit this damage, but not much. A report this month by dozens of top climate scientists suggests the world has just three years of action left to cap warming at 1.5 deg C, the stretch goal of the Paris climate accords. After that, 2 deg C won't be far away. We need to stop burning fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and make communities more resilient to the disasters already in the pipeline. But global governments remain a 'quantum leap' away from doing what is necessary, the United Nations warned last year. The US, once a leader in the climate fight, has switched teams in President Donald Trump's second term. He and his fellow Republicans in Congress are doing all they can to further enrich the fossil-fuel companies that gave them millions in campaign dollars in 2024. That includes pretending climate change is not a problem, contrary to science and the opinion of the vast majority of US voters. They are doing so in the name of keeping energy prices low for those voters, claiming fossil fuels are cheaper and more secure sources of energy. But to call them 'cheap' or 'secure' requires blurring your eyes to their many physical and financial risks. Those have become too big to ignore. BLOOMBERG

Wall Street analysts bullish on Circle after blockbuster IPO, but warn on sky-high valuation
Wall Street analysts bullish on Circle after blockbuster IPO, but warn on sky-high valuation

CNA

time3 hours ago

  • CNA

Wall Street analysts bullish on Circle after blockbuster IPO, but warn on sky-high valuation

Wall Street brokerages began coverage of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group on Monday with broadly bullish ratings, though some analysts voiced concerns about its elevated valuation after the stock more than doubled since its market debut. The New York-based company's shares were down nearly 3 per cent in premarket trading. Circle debuted this month at $69 per share in the first major IPO by a stablecoin issuer. The blockbuster flotation represents the biggest crypto listing since Coinbase's 2021 debut. The company had priced its IPO at $31 per share. J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were the lead underwriters for the offering. After the industry-mandated quiet period expired, Barclays, Bernstein, Canaccord Genuity and Needham launched coverage with the equivalent of 'buy' ratings and price targets above $200. "CRCL is building a market-leading digital dollar stablecoin network, with a strong regulatory edge, liquidity headstart and marquee distribution partnerships. This is hard to replicate, in our view," Bernstein analysts said in a note. Circle is a blockchain infrastructure company best known for issuing USD Coin (USDC), a fully reserved, U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin used across crypto trading, payments, and decentralized finance. In June, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support, marking a watershed moment for the digital asset industry by establishing the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. "CRCL is one of the only ways for public investors to play the blockchain infrastructure theme, and we believe stablecoins are nearing a pivotal turning point," Barclays said. However, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs pointed to the stock's elevated valuation, given its rapid rise since the IPO. J.P. Morgan started coverage with the most bearish view on Wall Street - an 'underweight' rating with a price target of $80, implying a downside of 56 per cent from the stock's last close of $180.43. "We view CRCL's business and growth attractively, but valuation appears elevated," said Goldman, as the brokerage started coverage with 'neutral' and $83 price target.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store