Canada’s Annual Inflation Remained at 0.1 Percent in August

Justice Department Watchdog Probing Handling of Stone Sentencing

The Justice Department has launched an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the handling of the criminal case of Roger Stone, former political adviser to President Donald Trump. The probe by the department’s inspector general will reportedly look into Attorney General William Barr’s February decision to override a sentencing recommendation for Stone made by rank-and-file prosecutors. The prosecutors recommended a sentence of seven to nine years in prison for Stone, but the department later filed another recommendation asking for a lighter sentence. The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General would not “confirm or deny the existence of any ongoing investigation” to The Epoch Times. Meanwhile, DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec told media outlets that they “welcome the review.” She did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment. The revelation…

OTTAWA—Statistics Canada says the consumer price index in August was up 0.1 percent compared with a year ago.

The annual inflation rate was unchanged from the year-over-year increase of 0.1 percent in July.

The average economist estimate had been for a year-over-year increase of 0.4 percent for August, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

Gasoline prices were down 11.1 percent compared with August 2019, following a 14.9 percent decline recorded in July.

Excluding gasoline from the inflation calculations, the consumer price index rose by 0.6 percent in August.

Prices were up in other categories such as personal care services like haircuts, which had a year-over-year increase of 7.2 percent.

The average of Canada’s three measures for core inflation, which are considered better gauges of underlying price pressures and closely tracked by the Bank of Canada, was 1.7 percent.

The Bank of Canada intends to keep its key policy interest rate at 0.25 percent, which is as low as it will go, until inflation is back at the central bank’s two percent target.

The hope is that by keeping its rate low, the central bank can drive down rates on mortgages and loans to make it easier for people to borrow and spend to aid the economy as it recuperates from the COVID-19 crisis.

Experts suggest the Bank of Canada’s key rate could stay where it is until late 2022 or even into 2023, although the pace of a recovery is largely dependent on the path of the pandemic, which has affected large swaths of the Canadian economy.

The monthly inflation report noted that air travel costs fell 16 percent compared with August 2019, following a decline of 8.6 percent in July as demand falls during the pandemic and airlines have offered discounts in response.

Regionally, prices rose the fastest in Prince Edward Island, where Statistics Canada says consumers paid more for cigarettes—which registered an annualized increase of 7.8 percent—after the province instated a special tax in mid-July.

Focus News: Canada’s Annual Inflation Remained at 0.1 Percent in August

Daimler to Pay $2.2 Billion in Diesel Emissions Cheating Settlements

WASHINGTON—Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion to resolve a U.S. government diesel emissions cheating investigation and claims from 250,000 U.S. vehicle owners, court documents show. The German automaker and its Mercedes-Benz USA LLC unit disclosed on Aug. 13 it had reached a settlement in principle resolving civil and environmental claims tied to 250,000 U.S. diesel cars and vans after the automaker used software to evade emissions rules. Daimler said in August expected costs of settlements with U.S. authorities would total $1.5 billion, settling with owners will cost another $700 million and also disclosed “further expenses of a mid three-digit-million EUR (euro) amount to fulfill requirements of the settlements. Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen said the settlements, which follow a nearly five-year investigation, will “serve to deter any others who may…