National Business

NEW YORK — Wells Fargo's profits plunged nearly 90% in the first quarter as the bank set aside billions of dollars in preparation for consumers and businesses defaulting on loans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

TORONTO — Companies with mines in Quebec are moving to restart suspended operations after the province announced Monday it would redesignate mining, residential construction, auto mechanics and landscaping operations as essential services starting We

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread, Tim Hortons reviewed its advertising plans and decided they no longer made sense as store closures, wide-scale layoffs and physical distancing upended life in Canada.

WASHINGTON — Beaten down by the coronavirus outbreak, the world economy in 2020 will suffer its worst year since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast.

Two McDonald’s workers in Florida are filing a $500 million class action lawsuit against the company, claiming a “systemic sexual harassment problem” at company-owned stores.

MONTREAL — The Quebec government has declared that home builders, miners and landscapers provide essential services and can return to work despite COVID-19 restrictions that have brought much of the economy to a halt.

CALGARY — Canadian oil wells will continue to be shut down amid weak global oil prices despite an agreement to limit production struck by OPEC and other major producers on the weekend, producers say.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (14,075.94, down 90.69 points.) Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX:ACB). Health care. Down 16 cents, or 13.11 per cent, to $1.06 on 18.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index failed to keep up with last week's stellar performance, moving lower ahead of what is expected to be a grim corporate earnings season. Some large U.S. banks kick off the first-quarter results on Tuesday.

Air Canada is suspending most international flights until June, while Air Transat and Sunwing Airlines Ltd. are cancelling all trips until May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.