Stock markets fall for second day; Sensex tanks 721 points - The Hindu

Published: October 23, 2026 at 6:27a.m. EDTWorld shares were mixed on Friday while oil prices hovered at their highest levels since May on worries about the war with Iran. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.8 per cent to US$114.02 per barrel. U. S. benchmark crude oil added 1.1 per cent to $100.60 per barrel. In early European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.4 per cent, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.6 per cent to 7,765.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4 per cent to 10,685.86. Some Asian markets bounced back from early losses. In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.3 per cent to 62,693.16, while the Kospi in South Korea recovered from an early retreat, gaining 0.3 per cent to close at 5,550.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 0.7 per cent to 23,093.37 and the Shanghai Composite index added 0.9 per cent to 3,690.48. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was nearly unchanged at 8,795.20. On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent for its worst day since July, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 2.6 per cent. Weakness for tech stocks was so overwhelming that it masked strength for the rest of the U. S. market, where the majority of stocks actually rose.

Published: October 23, 2026 at 6:17a.m. EDT$1.25 here, $1.75 there. Sometimes, bank fees can seem minimal enough, but the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says the bigger picture on how much Canadians pay in bank fees might be more murky than it should be. The agency said in a review, released Friday, that while many bank fees seem relatively small on an individual basis, they can add up over time, and in some cases, the full fee structure is embedded in a transaction, making it less visible to the consumer. “Our banks are very well established and very solid, and they really are focused on their customers ... We would really like them to play an active role in reducing fees and ensuring that consumers are well served by the banking community,” Shereen Benzvy Miller, FCAC commissioner, said in an interview. Bank fees can stem from a variety of activities including everyday transactions, account maintenance, ATM access, non-sufficient funds, overdraft and foreign exchange. The review outlined some ways in which banking fees can be difficult for consumers to see or expect. Firstly, when multiple fees are applied to a single transaction, consumers pay higher costs.

Published: October 23, 2026 at 6:00a.m. EDTQuality is one of the most overused words in investing. But what makes a stock a quality stock? For Keith Buchanan, one clue is the dividend, and whether a company can keep paying it.

PoliticsPublished: October 23, 2026 at 5:44a.m. EDTISTANBUL — Prime Minister Mark Carney says he’s not overly concerned about Canada seeking closer ties with Turkiye amid criticism that the country has infringed on LGBTQ2S+ rights. Turkish authorities have targeted multiple LGBTQ2S+ groups and individuals, detaining dozens of activists, breaking into association offices and raiding popular hangouts. Last month, Ottawa opted against joining Germany, France and others in condemning Turkiye’s crackdown on LGBTQ2S+ organizations. Carney told reporters in Istanbul that “engagement is not approval” and that Ottawa believes everyone should be able to live freely, safely and with dignity. Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, as he arrives at the Bestepe Presidential complex in Ankara, Turkey on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Prime Minister Mark Carney walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, as he arrives at the Bestepe Presidential complex in Ankara, Turkiye on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.

Published: October 23, 2026 at 5:38a.m. EDTOTTAWA — Canada’s deepening ties with Europe could help fill some of the massive gaps left behind as the United States pulls back from foreign aid and embraces a “transactional” approach, says the secretary of state for international development. “When we put all our heads together, I think the opportunities are endless,” Randeep Sarai told The Canadian Press. He said this effort includes recent talks with the European Union on leveraging private dollars and philanthropy for aid, while maintaining some government funding for the world’s most vulnerable. Sarai is overseeing a shift in foreign aid as the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney cuts back on global health spending and encourages more private funding in development projects. Ottawa is cutting spending across government, seeking new trade partners and boosting the defence budget to make Canada less vulnerable to U. S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and threats of annexation. The Trump administration shut down the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, leading to what Harvard University researchers estimate to be hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths.

Published: October 23, 2026 at 5:23a.m. EDTHALIFAX — Living more than 200 kilometres from the site of a major artificial intelligence data centre proposal isn’t stopping Michael McCluskey from voicing his opposition to the project. The retired military veteran and training professional from Dartmouth, N. S., has added his name to a Change.org petition that has already collected more than 18,000 signatures since the project was announced last Friday. Anthropic, an American AI company, plans to lease the Point Tupper, N. S., site for its first Canadian data centre, the first major AI facility to be publicly proposed in Nova Scotia. However, McCluskey said he just views it as the latest in a long history of Nova Scotia chasing grand economic development projects that never seem to deliver. He said the site won’t be able to serve any other purpose if Anthropic walks away, and he’s worried the province will be left holding the bag when economic benefits don’t appear. “They don’t put (data centres) anywhere that’s prospering,” McCluskey said in an interview. “They don’t put them in San Francisco. They don’t put them in Los Angeles ….