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Oil tanks at the Volodarskaya LPDS production facility, in the village of Konstantinovo, Russia, on June 8. MAXIM SHEMETOV/Reuters Russian oil output is set to fall 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) next year after a European Union ban on seaborne exports of Russian crude comes into effect, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. The move to deprive Moscow of revenue will create more uncertainty for oil markets and add to pressure on prices, including diesel, the Paris-based energy agency said in its monthly oil report. “The approaching EU embargoes on Russian crude and oil product imports and a ban on maritime services will add further pressure on global oil balances, and, in particular, on already exceptionally tight diesel markets,” the IEA said. “A proposed oil price cap may help alleviate tensions, yet a myriad of uncertainties and logistical challenges remain … the range of uncertainty has never been so large.” The EU will ban Russian crude imports from Dec. 5 and Russ...

Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz delivers a keynote address to a business conference in Ottawa, on Nov. 24. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says the effect of interest rate hikes will be larger than people anticipate. Speaking at a conference in Ottawa hosted by Western University’s Ivey Business School, the former governor warns today’s economy is more sensitive to interest rates than it was 10 years ago. Poloz estimates annual inflation will fall to about four per cent on its own as external factors, such as higher commodity prices, ease. He says policy action will need to do the rest of the work to get inflation back down to the central bank’s two per cent target. Poloz is defending the use of the word “transitory” to describe inflation pressures, noting that international contributors to inflation are already dissipating. However, the former central bank governor says it takes time for that development to be reflected in the...

Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz delivers a keynote address to a business conference in Ottawa, on Nov. 24. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press Former Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz says the effect of interest rate hikes will be larger than people anticipate. Speaking at a conference in Ottawa hosted by Western University’s Ivey Business School, the former governor warns today’s economy is more sensitive to interest rates than it was 10 years ago. Poloz estimates annual inflation will fall to about four per cent on its own as external factors, such as higher commodity prices, ease. He says policy action will need to do the rest of the work to get inflation back down to the central bank’s two per cent target. Poloz is defending the use of the word “transitory” to describe inflation pressures, noting that international contributors to inflation are already dissipating. However, the former central bank governor says it takes time for that development to be reflected in the...

Tough new sanctions on Russian oil shipments taking effect from December are likely to boost already high tanker rates as buyers race to replace cargoes and are forced to use longer routes, a leading ship manager said. In the latest action against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine that began in February, the European Union will ban Russian crude imports from Dec. 5, and Russian oil products from Feb 5. Designed to deprive Moscow of revenues that could finance its action in Ukraine, the measures will force one of the world’s top oil producers and exporters to seek alternative buyers further afield. Maersk Tankers Chief Executive Christian M. Ingerslev told Reuters he expected demand to be healthy as Russian oil continues to flow, but to different markets. “With new sanctions coming into place, we expect that Russian oil will continue to be moved. But now the importing countries will not have the short haul distance, it will be long haul,” he said. “Europe, which previously...

Bundestag members cast their votes on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, in Berlin, on Dec. 1. MICHELE TANTUSSI/Reuters German lawmakers on Thursday approved a free-trade deal between the European Union and Canada, moving the accord a step closer to taking full effect. The pact, formally known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, was signed in late 2016. Most of its terms have been implemented provisionally since 2017, but the parliaments of the EU’s 27 member nations must ratify the deal for –it to come fully into force. Chancellor OIaf Scholz’s three-party coalition moved forward with ratifying it after Germany’s highest court in March rejected complaints against CETA, at least in the form in which it is currently in effect. Lawmakers voted 559-110 to approve the pact. Another 11 EU countries have yet to ratify the deal, Verena Hubertz, a lawmaker with Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats, told parliament’s lower house before the vote....

There’s a crisis in cybersecurity right now, with a rise in attacks coupled with a shortage of talent. Handout Yogen Appalraju is a partner and the Canadian cybersecurity leader at EY Canada. If the digitization of businesses has taught us anything, it’s that cybersecurity is much more than simply a technology risk, it’s also a very serious business risk. A recent report from Statistics Canada showed that 18 per cent of Canadian businesses were affected by cybersecurity incidents last year, including 37 per cent of large businesses. By not giving the required attention to cybersecurity, businesses open themselves up to a plethora of risks, including effects on their operations, which will drive losses of revenue and profits. In fact, last year Canadian businesses spent $600-million on recovery efforts after cybersecurity incidents, a figure which doesn’t account for the reputational effect and subsequent loss of customers that a data breach can have on a business. Much of the increas...

Operating and conducting your affairs in private is a fundamental human right – even for businesses. the globe and mail/iStockPhoto / Getty Images Martin Kenney is managing partner of Martin Kenney & Co., an investigative litigation practice based in the British Virgin Islands, specializing in global asset recovery. Across Europe, countries have been switching off public access to what are known as beneficial ownership registers, in response to a ruling from the continent’s top court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It’s a move that transparency campaigners are decrying , but which, after a 30-year background in battling economic criminals, I believe is a victory for common sense and the right to privacy. Other jurisdictions should take heed of the decision. Since 2018, a patchwork of systems, which we refer to as ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) registers, have been operating across the European Union. These registers list the names of people who ultimately own a company, an...

The popular Chinese video app TikTok has been banned from all U.S. House of Representatives-managed devices, according to the House’s administration arm, mimicking a law soon to go into effect banning the app from U.S. government devices. The app is considered “high risk due to a number of security issues,” the House’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) said in a message sent to all lawmakers and staff on Tuesday, and must be deleted from all devices managed by the House. The new rule follows a series of moves by U.S. state governments to ban TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd, from government devices. As of last week, 19 states have at least partially blocked the app from state-managed devices over concerns that the Chinese government could use the app to track Americans and censor content. The $1.66-trillion omnibus spending bill, passed last week to fund the U.S. government through to Sept. 30, 2023, includes a provision to ban the app on federally managed devices, and w...

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it is proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. Concerns that 5G service could interfere with airplane altimeters, which give data on a plane’s height above the ground and are crucial for bad-weather landing, have led to recent disruptions at some U.S. airports. The proposed airworthiness directive, which would take effect in February, 2024, is similar to one that took effect in December, 2021, prohibiting passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless the FAA specifically approved them. The FAA is also proposing a requirement that airlines revise airplane flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after June 30 unless retrofits have been completed on that airplane. Verizon and AT&T in June voluntarily agreed to delay some C-Band 5G usage until Ju...

Shopify Inc. SHOP-T is raising prices for three of its service plans after they remained “largely unchanged” for 12 years. The Ottawa-based e-commerce technology company says its basic plan will now cost $51 per month, up from $38, while its mid-range Shopify plan will move from $99 per month to $132 and its advanced plan will increase from $389 each month to $517. Existing merchants that switch their plan from monthly to yearly terms will keep the current, lower monthly prices before the new rates take effect on April 23. In a blog post announcing the changes, vice-president of product and chief operating officer Kaz Nejatian says the resources needed to offer powerful, innovative and reliable tools have changed dramatically. He sees the company is increasing its prices so that it can maintain the same value to merchants. The changes come after Shopify laid off about 1,000 workers last year in the wake of its stock tumbling and customers moving back to pre-pandemic shopping habits. ...

There’s a crisis in cybersecurity right now, with a rise in attacks coupled with a shortage of talent. Handout Yogen Appalraju is a partner and the Canadian cybersecurity leader at EY Canada. If the digitization of businesses has taught us anything, it’s that cybersecurity is much more than simply a technology risk, it’s also a very serious business risk. A recent report from Statistics Canada showed that 18 per cent of Canadian businesses were affected by cybersecurity incidents last year, including 37 per cent of large businesses. By not giving the required attention to cybersecurity, businesses open themselves up to a plethora of risks, including effects on their operations, which will drive losses of revenue and profits. In fact, last year Canadian businesses spent $600-million on recovery efforts after cybersecurity incidents, a figure which doesn’t account for the reputational effect and subsequent loss of customers that a data breach can have on a business. Much of the increas...