National Business

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government's deficit in the first two months of the budget year ran 25.1% higher than the same period a year ago as spending to deal with the COVID pandemic soared while tax revenues fell.

Empire Co. Ltd. reported its second-quarter profit and sales rose compared with a year ago as it announced plans to expand its Voila online grocery service to Alberta.

TORONTO — Hudson's Bay Co. is asking an Ontario court to review the province's decision to temporarily close non-essential retailers in Toronto and Peel Region.

OTTAWA — Canada's maple syrup harvest hit a record high of 14.3 million gallons this year, despite shutdowns during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. This year's harvest was 8.

MONTREAL — The Caisse de depot et placement is ceding control of Quebec's McInnis Cement plant to a Brazilian conglomerate after provincial taxpayers lost several hundred million dollars on the project.

TORONTO — Canadian businesses owned by Indigenous women have been steadily growing, but that progress is being threatened by COVID-19 and other systemic barriers, say researchers behind a new study.

CITY OF HARTWELL, Ga. — Pet food manufacturer Nestle Purina will invest $550 million to expand a recently completed factory in northeast Georgia, with plans to expand its workforce to a total of 370.

MONTREAL — Printer and packager Transcontinental Inc. saw its profits drop by more than half in the fourth quarter on lower revenues, but its performance was still better than expected.

CALGARY — If internet search trends are a window into the minds of consumers, then a recent report suggests that a growing number of Canadians are considering some ill-advised financial options, observers say.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices edged up 0.2% in November as a rise in the cost of energy and a number of other goods offset a drop in food costs. The gain in the consumer price index followed a flat reading in October and matched the 0.