National Business

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is unleashing its boldest effort yet to protect the U.S. economy from the coronavirus by helping companies and governments pay their bills and survive a devastating crisis.

TORONTO — The Toronto Regional and Ontario real estate boards have urged realtors to stop holding open houses because of the COVID-19 pandemic, following a similar move by the Greater Vancouver Area board last week.

MONTREAL — Transat AT Inc. has temporarily laid off about 70 per cent of its workforce in Canada, about 3,600 people, as it looks to stop flying on April 1.

TORONTO — The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada has fined TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. $4 million for failing to include position cost information in quarterly retail client account statements for certain securities positions.

CALGARY — Ensign Energy Services Inc. is cutting its capital budget and says its top executives will take a pay cut as it moves to deal with the crash in the oilpatch due to COVID-19 and the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

WINNIPEG — NFI Group Inc. says about 6,500 employees will be affected by idling a majority of its facilities for a two-week period starting March 30, if not sooner, as it works to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BURLINGTON, Ont. — A pair of royalty income funds are suspending distributions as restaurants across the country close to slow the spread of COVID-19.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada reports wholesale sales rose 1.8 per cent to $65.2 billion in January, boosted by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories and the miscellaneous subsectors. Economists had expected a decline of 0.

BURLINGTON, Ont. — SIR Royalty Income Fund, which has a portfolio of 60 restaurants in Canada, is suspending its distributions as it stops dine-in restaurant operations at all of its locations.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is scouring the globe for medical supplies and scouting temporary hospital locations as the coronavirus crisis grows.