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Trump and Zelensky Tout Progress Toward Peace Deal Despite Major Sticking Points

   U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hold a press conference after their lunch meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky struck an optimistic tone after meeting in Florida, suggesting that negotiations toward a potential Ukraine‑Russia peace agreement are nearing completion. Trump described the talks as “very close,” while Zelensky said the two sides had aligned on the majority of key issues. The meeting followed Trump’s recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he characterized as constructive. Zelensky emphasized that the discussions were productive and that both leaders share a desire to accelerate the path toward ending the conflict. Despite the upbeat messaging, significant obstacles remain. Unresolved issues reportedly include territorial questions, long‑term security guarantees for Ukraine, and the sequencing of troop withdrawals—topics that hav...

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Canada’s economy continues to sputter in Q4 2023

According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s economy showed no growth in October, remaining unchanged at 0.0% on a monthly basis, which is below analyst expectations of 0.2% growth . This marks the third straight month where economic growth was essentially unchanged. Advance estimates for November showed that GDP increased 0.1% last month, as increases in manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were partially offset by decreases in retail trade .

The country’s economic engine continued to sputter in the fourth quarter, according to Royce Mendes, Desjardins’ managing director and head of macro strategy. He expects the economy to post “virtually no growth” in the fourth quarter and continue to stagnate. As more households and businesses feel the impacts of higher interest rates in 2024, we expect Canada to fall into at least a mild recession. So while the economy is sputtering now, it might begin rolling backwards early in the new year.


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