World Street | Middle East tensions, Sheinbaum-Trump trade talks, Google lawsuit, and more

World Street offers a sneak peek into the world of business and economy.

Israel targets a Hezbollah rocket facility amid ceasefire tensions, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum seeks a trade truce with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Canada's Competition Bureau sues Google over alleged ad monopoly. Meanwhile, Tokyo's inflation surge fuels rate hike speculation, sending the yen higher. All this and more in the November 28 edition of World Street.

Middle East Tensions

The Israeli military announced on November 28 that its air force targeted a Hezbollah facility in southern Lebanon, used for storing mid-range rockets, after both parties accused each other of violating a ceasefire intended to end over a year of conflict. Israel also claimed to have fired on vehicles entering multiple locations in the southern zone, labelling them as breaches of the truce with the Iran-backed Hezbollah. In response, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah accused Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Sheinbaum, Trump Seek Trade Truce

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on November 28 that she and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had agreed to foster a positive relationship during a cordial phone call, seemingly diffusing tensions between the two major trading partners amid looming tariff threats. A day after warning of retaliation if Trump followed through on his promise to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, Sheinbaum adopted a more conciliatory stance.

Online Thanksgiving Sales

Online sales in the U.S. rose about 4 percent in the first half of Thanksgiving, compared to a 2 percent increase last year, according to Salesforce data released on November 28, reflecting strong demand driven by steep retailer discounts. Retailers have been offering deeper and earlier holiday deals to attract budget-conscious shoppers. Despite the early boost, the overall holiday shopping season, spanning Thanksgiving to Christmas, is projected to grow at its slowest pace in six years, per reports from the National Retail Federation and Deloitte.

Canada Takes on Google Over Ad Monopoly

Canada's Competition Bureau has filed a lawsuit against Alphabet's Google, accusing the tech giant of anti-competitive practices in online advertising. The Bureau has asked the Competition Tribunal to order Google to divest two ad tech tools and impose a penalty to ensure compliance with Canadian competition laws.

Tokyo Inflation Fuels Rate Hike Speculation

Core consumer inflation in Tokyo accelerated in November, remaining above the Bank of Japan's 2 percent target, signalling widening price pressures and fueling speculation of a near-term interest rate hike. Following the data release, the yen strengthened against the dollar as markets anticipated a potential rate increase from the BOJ at its December policy meeting. The Tokyo core consumer price index (CPI), excluding fresh food, climbed 2.2 percent year-on-year in November, surpassing expectations of 2.1 percent and up from October's 1.8 percent rise.