National Business

An underground economy that's expanded during Ontario's stay-at-home order hurts public finances and could be contributing to the spread of COVID-19, public health officials and experts said.

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — The federal, provincial and municipal governments announced $24 million Friday to prepare the former coast guard property on the waterfront in Saint John, N.B., for redevelopment.

LONDON — Uber drivers in Britain should be classed as “workers" and not self-employed, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Friday, in a decision that threatens the company's business model and holds broader implications for the so-called gig economy.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose again last month, a sign that the housing market’s strong momentum from 2020 may be carrying over into this year. Existing U.S. home sales rose 0.

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales in December posted their largest decline since the low of April as provinces tightened restrictions in response to a rise in COVID-19 cases, taking a bite out of the normally busy holiday shopping season.

HALIFAX — Chorus Aviation Inc. says an acquisition proposal from an unnamed bidder that it received last fall is no longer being considered, but that it remains in talks regarding a potential investment.

MONTREAL — CGI Inc. has signed a deal to buy back and cancel 4.2 million of its class-A subordinate voting shares from the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec for $400 million. The technology consulting company says it will pay $95.

CALGARY — The leadership at private junior oilsands producer Osum Oil Sands Corp. say they will sell their shares after Waterous Energy Fund increased its bid by 25 per cent.

AUSTIN, Texas — Power was restored to more homes and businesses Thursday in states hit by a deadly blast of winter that overwhelmed the electrical grid and left millions shivering in the cold this week.

JASPER, Alta. — A famous hotel in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains has reopened reservations after they were mysteriously closed last month because of a private block booking.