OTTAWA—With its June 7 rate hike, the Bank of Canada pause lasted less than five months. In raising its overnight rate target by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) to 4.75 percent—the highest level since the spring of 2001—the BoC caught some market participants off-guard with the timing of the hike.  In ending its pause,…

HONOLULU—The latest eruption at Kilauea’s summit on Hawaii’s has paused after 61 days of volcanic activity. U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said Tuesday lava was no longer flowing on the crater floor of Halemaumau, where all recent volcanic activity had been confined, Hawaii News Now reported. No significant changes have been observed along…

Alphabet-owned Google will not help websites, apps and YouTube channels sell ads alongside content that it deems exploits, dismisses or condones the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict, the U.S. company said Wednesday. Google, whose advertising software helps publishers generate revenue, bars ads from appearing next to content that incites violence and denies tragic events. It is broadly…

A coalition of groups on March 8 urged President Joe Biden’s administration to end the pause on student loan payments, arguing the policy is costing taxpayers billions of dollars each month. “The moratorium is fundamentally unfair and is a special favor for affluent elites at the expense of low- and middle-income Americans,” the Americans for…

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has paused some of its cruise operations amid rising numbers of COVID-19 infections due to the Omicron variant. The sailings of three ships—Serenade of the Seas, Jewel of the Seas, Symphony of the Seas—have been paused while the return of its Vision of the Seas to cruising has been postponed to…

Pupils in England will once again have to quarantine when their classmates test positive for COVID-19, as the government hits pause on its plan to instead rely on rapid daily tests. A minority of children are still attending school, exempt from current lockdown laws that otherwise mandate home learning. To try to stem the spread…