National Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday inserted himself directly into trade talks with Japanese officials , a sign of the high stakes for the United States after its tariffs rattled the economy and caused the administration to assure t

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday as it waits to get a clearer picture of how global trade uncertainty is going to impact the Canadian economy. The central bank held its policy rate steady at 2.

NEW YORK (AP) — Spotify experienced a widespread outage Wednesday — with tens of thousands of users reporting problems with the popular music and audio streamer. But the platform said it was back up and running hours later.

TORONTO — Ontario has tabled legislation to make trade between provinces easier, as a way to shore up the economy against the effects of American tariffs.

CALGARY — Crude oil pipeline operator South Bow Corp. says its Keystone system has restarted after a rupture last week in North Dakota.

CALGARY — Parkland Corp. says its chief executive is planning to step down as activist shareholders push for sweeping changes at the fuel refiner and retailer.

TORONTO — A business group representing manufacturers is calling for less regulation and lower taxes as part of its policy recommendations to support a sector under threat from U.S. tariffs.

TORONTO — Real estate watchers say the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its key policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent will likely keep a sluggish housing market at the status quo.

TORONTO — Strength in the energy sector helped Canada's main stock index gain more than 100 points as the price of oil climbed, while U.S. markets fell in late-morning trading. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 118.68 points at 24,186.61.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. shoppers stepped up their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items, particularly cars, before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in.