Canada

Update: A Commerce spokesman told Fox News that Ross was not involved with Navigator’s decision to engage in business with Sibur, a publicly traded company, which was not under sanction at the time and is not currently. The spokesman also said Ross, the Trump administration’s point man on trade and manufacturing policy, “never met” Shamalov, and generally has supported the Trump administration’s sanctions against Russia, while recusing himself from matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels.

It appears that Trump's attempt to ram through a sweeping NAFTA renegotiation is about to hit its first major roadblock: according to CNBC, top trade negotiators from Canada and Mexico will meet Tuesday with the U.S. Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, and firmly reject the U.S. proposals floated in the current round of NAFTA negotiations, citing two people briefed on the countries' positioning.

12,000 jobs may not sound like much but that's roughly how many jobs Canada adds to its economy each month. Only in this case, that's how many workers are about to find themselves without a job because overnight Sears Canada announced plans to liquidate its remaining 150 stores instead of restructuring, the latest admission of brick and mortar defeat in the war with Amazon, with the result some 12,000 job losses in the coming weeks.

Over the past year, amid Donald Trump's crackdown on refugees and illegal immigrants, Canada has emerged as a willing safe harbor for those whose welcomes (and visas) in the US had expired. This past January, in response to Trump's executive order on immigration, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith,” adding that “Diversity is our strength."

In a continuation of trading patterns observed over the previous two days, on Thursday the global bond rout deepened in the aftermath of the release of President Trump’s tax-cut plan, Janet Yellen's recent hawkish comments and renewed optimism over the health of the U.S. economy.