The Bank of Canada is turning its attention to when it may be able to start cutting interest rates, governor Tiff Macklem said Wednesday as he announced the central bank’s decision to hold its key rate at five per cent.

“With overall demand in the economy no longer running ahead of supply, governing council’s discussion of monetary policy is shifting from whether our policy rate is restrictive enough to restore price stability, to how long it needs to stay at the current level,” Macklem said in a news conference

VANCOUVER — The union representing transit supervisors for Coast Mountain Bus Company has announced it will launch a new 72-hour strike stopping Metro Vancouver buses from operating if a tentative agreement on a new contract isn’t reached by next week.

The warning came after the B.C. government appointed a special mediator in a bid to resolve the dispute that prompted a two-day shutdown of bus services that ended Wednesday morning.

CUPE Local 4500 said in a statement that it welcomed the appointment of Vince Ready

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s train drivers brought rail traffic to a standstill again early Wednesday when they began a six-day strike to push their demands in a rancorous dispute with the country’s main railway operator over working hours and pay.

The strike by the GDL union will affect passenger services and freight trains operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn until 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday.

The union held a and two walkouts last year which lasted up to 24

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that popular progressive politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who was blocked from becoming prime minister even though his party placed first in last year’s election, did not violate the election law and can retain his seat in Parliament.

Pita had been suspended from the legislature pending the court’s ruling on whether he violated the law by owning shares in a media company. He was the executor of his father’s estate which included stock in ITV, a company that is

BANGKOK (AP) — China’s central bank said Wednesday it will cut amount of reserves it holds for banks as part of a slew of measures to support the slowing economy.

The announcement by the governor of the People’s Bank of China prompted a surge in share prices, with Hong Kong’s benchmark jumping 3.6%.

Chinese stock markets have languished in recent months as , discouraged by a faltering recovery from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A sell-off earlier in the

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, with Chinese stocks extending gains after Beijing announced a raft of policies to support sagging markets.

Hong Kong rose 1.4% and Shanghai surged 2%. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo and Seoul. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices advanced.

Late Wednesday, the Chinese central bank announced a set of rules to govern lending to property developers. Earlier, it said it would to put about 1 trillion yuan ($141 billion)

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan’s exports surged almost 10% in December from a year earlier, helped by a revival in trade with China and strong demand for vehicles, machinery and computer chips.

Imports fell almost 7%, leaving a trade surprise of 62 billion yen ($410 million), according to preliminary released Wednesday.

A weak Japanese yen has helped export manufacturers like Toyota, Honda and Sony, though it increases costs of imports of key commodities like oil and gas needed to fuel

PRAGUE (AP) — A fast train collided with a truck in eastern Czech Republic on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring at least 19 people, officials said.

The Czech Railways said the driver of the train was killed and that the injured have been transported to nearby hospitals with no life threatening injuries.

Police said there were 60 people onboard the train at the time of the crash. The accident occurred early in the morning when a fast train heading for Prague, the country’s capital, hit a

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A tropical low slowly moving toward northeast Australia reached cyclone strength on Wednesday and will bring flooding into Queensland state into the weekend.

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily was moving west at 5 mph and forecast to make landfall overnight Thursday.

“After the cyclone crosses the coast, it’s likely to weaken to a tropical low but have very high levels of rainfall associated with it,” Queensland Premier Steven Miles said at a news conference in Brisbane. “And so depending on its path, that rainfall