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Canada’s Inflation Climbs to 2.4% as Gas Prices Surge to Record High

  Canada’s inflation rate accelerated to 2.4% in March , up from 1.8% in February, as the Iran war triggered the largest monthly gasoline price increase on record . Statistics Canada reported that gas prices surged 21.2% month‑over‑month , a supply‑shock response to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and broader Middle East instability.  Energy costs were the dominant driver of March inflation, with overall energy prices rising 3.9% year‑over‑year after a sharp decline the month before. Excluding gasoline, inflation would have eased to 2.2% , highlighting how concentrated the price shock was.  Food inflation offered mixed relief: grocery prices rose 4.4% , while fresh vegetables jumped 7.8% due to difficult growing conditions. Restaurant inflation cooled sharply as last year’s tax‑holiday distortions fell out of the annual comparison.  Economists note that while headline inflation spiked, core measures remained relatively tame , giving the Bank of Canada ro...

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Stock Market Today: World shares mixed after Wall Street’s 3rd straight winning week

 

According to a news article from MSN, world shares were mixed on Monday after Wall Street closed its third straight winning week with a tiny gain. 

Germany’s DAX fell 0.1% to 15,907.92, while France’s CAC 40 gained 0.3% to 7,256.93. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3% at 7,481.86. The future for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were virtually unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index broke its September peak, hitting a 33-year high, and then fell to 33,388.03, shedding 0.6%. 

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.6% to 17,732.36, and the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.5% to 3,068.32. China announced on Monday that it would keep its benchmark lending rates unchanged as expected due to a weaker yuan and the need to assess the impact of recent stimulus measures on the economy.

 In South Korea, the Kospi was 0.9% higher, at 2,491.20. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 7,058.40. Taiwan’s Taiex was little changed. The SET in Bangkok dropped 0.1% as the state planning agency announced Monday that Thailand’s economy grew slower than expected in the last quarter due to weakness in exports and agriculture, despite strong consumer spending and a recovery in tourism.

Markets hope inflation has cooled enough for the federal Reserve to finally stop its market-crunching hikes to interest rates


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