A group led by global investment firm BlackRock has agreed to purchase controlling interests in ports operating near the Panama Canal, a planned $22.8 billion deal lauded by the Trump administration amid wide-ranging shifts in U.S. trade policy.

New York-based BlackRock announced that the firm along with its affiliated Global Infrastructure Partners and a separate entity known as Terminal Investment Limited will acquire a 90% interest in Panama Ports Company and controlling stakes in other units owned by the seller, subject to regulatory approvals. The seller of the interests is CK Hutchison Holding of Hong Kong.

A statement from the buying group said the deal will give it control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including two operating along the Panama Canal. “These world-class ports facilitate global growth,” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said.

In a speech to Congress Tuesday, President Trump said the deal would aid efforts by his administration to reduce Chinese influence over Panama Canal operations. Trump said the U.S. “will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.”

The 51-mile canal, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, has been owned for decades by the country of Panama. But the Trump administration contends operations there have increasingly come under control by Chinese companies.

In a related matter, Trump on Wednesday agreed to exempt automobiles for one month from newly enacted 25% tariffs on products coming from Canada and Mexico, at the request of the three largest U.S. automakers. Leaders of GM, Ford and Stellantis previously warned that tariffs could significantly raise the price of vehicles, since production often involves multiple cross-border moves of components as part of the assembly process. 

U.S. private-sector employers added a relatively slim 77,000 jobs in February, even as annual pay rose by an average of 4.7%, according to the latest report from payroll services provider ADP and Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab.

“Policy uncertainty and a slowdown in consumer spending might have led to layoffs or a slowdown in hiring last month,” Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in a statement Wednesday. “Our data, combined with other recent indicators, suggests a hiring hesitancy among employers as they assess the economic climate ahead.”

February numbers showed leisure and hospitality leading job gains from the prior month at 41,000, with construction and financial services each increasing by 26,000 and manufacturing gaining 18,000. Notable decliners included education and health services, down 28,000; and information technology, decreasing by 14,000.

Data showed annual pay growth led by industries such as financial services at 5.1%, construction at 4.9% and manufacturing and hospitality both at 4.8%.

The ADP-Stanford report is based on anonymous payroll data from ADP client companies with nearly 14.8 million employees. It is considered a preview of monthly Labor Department data tracking both public and private nonfarm employment, with February figures including the latest U.S. unemployment rate scheduled for release on March 7. 

CEO exits from U.S.-based companies and organizations fell in January from December levels but were 14% higher than a year earlier in what remains a challenging business climate.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported January’s 222 CEO changeovers marked a 3% decline from the prior month but still reached the highest January level in more than 20 years of tracking, topping the prior January high of 219 in 2020.

The firm said interim CEO replacements have soared this year compared with January 2024, with 19% of this year’s new leaders appointed on an interim basis, up from 6% a year ago. This reflects uncertainty in some industries about future business conditions.

“Companies are grappling with the actions of a new administration that is cutting federal spending and eliminating contracts while market fluctuations and new technologies continue to roil company plans,” Senior Vice President Andrew Challenger said in a statement this week.

Challenger data showed the government-nonprofit category continuing to lead CEO changeovers in January at 51, with 25 in technology and 18 in healthcare. Real estate company CEO exits remained less common by comparison at five, down from six in December, while construction had nine in January, up from seven in December.