By MarketsFarm

WINNIPEG, Feb. 27 (MarketsFarm) – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.

– Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is asking all schools from elementary through high school in the country to close for the month of March in an effort to curb the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. More cases were reported in Europe and the Middle East, with the spreading virus raising concerns over a global pandemic.

– Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are set to meet with federal and provincial officials in British Columbia on Thursday, according to reports. A previously planned meeting was cancelled on Wednesday due to a supposed ‘miscommunication’. Rail blockades and other protests in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en chiefs, who oppose a natural gas pipeline through their territory, have hampered transportation networks across the country over the past few weeks, with mounting tensions raising concerns over vigilantism.

– The United States economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to a report from the commerce Department. That was unrevised from the advanced estimate put out a month ago and in line with the growth reported the previous quarter. The GDP growth was off President Donald Trump’s 3.0 per cent target.