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5 Things to Know Today: Canada Enters Recession, Oil Slips on Iran Ceasefire Talk

Saturday, May 30, 2026 — Your quick-hit Canadian financial briefing for the day. 1.Canada Officially Meets the Definition of a Technical Recession Statistics Canada confirmed Friday that real GDP contracted 0.1% on an annualized basis in Q1 2026 — following a revised 1.0% drop in Q4 2025 . That's two straight quarters of negative growth, which meets the technical definition of a recession. The miss was a big one: economists had forecast growth of 1.5% . The main culprits were a surge in imports (up 2.9%, largely gold), declining business capital investment (down 0.7% — its fifth consecutive quarterly drop ), and weakness in resource extraction and construction. On a per-capita basis, GDP actually edged up 0.2% as Canada's population shrank for the second quarter in a row. Not everyone is ready to call it a full recession: some economists note that three of the four weak months were isolated, and early April data points to a sharp 0.4% rebound . Still, the numbers ...

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Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Attempt to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook Amid Legal Battle

 Lisa Cook, member of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve, at a Federal Reserve Board open meeting in June, 2025.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, marking a significant early setback for the White House in an unprecedented legal dispute over the central bank’s independence.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued a preliminary injunction, ruling that the “for cause” provision in the Federal Reserve Act applies only to a governor’s conduct while in office — not to alleged actions before their appointment. The Trump administration has accused Cook of inaccurately describing properties on mortgage applications prior to joining the Fed in 2022, allegations she firmly denies.

Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, sued both Trump and the Federal Reserve, arguing the removal attempt was politically motivated and tied to her monetary policy stance. The case, the first of its kind, could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court and set a precedent for the limits of presidential authority over the central bank.

The ruling ensures Cook will participate in the Fed’s upcoming September policy meeting, where an interest rate cut is widely expected. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, hailed the decision as a victory for safeguarding the Fed’s independence from political interference.


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