National Business

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed optimism Sunday that the U.S. economy can begin to recover from a devastating recession in the second half of the year, assuming the coronavirus doesn't erupt in a second wave.

TORONTO — Picturesque Peggy's Cove, N.S., is normally a great place to run a business but restaurant owner John Campbell hopes he can survive the cancellation of cruise ships this season because of COVID-19.

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Wholesale trade figures StatCan is scheduled to release wholesale trade figures for March on Wednesday. The agency reported that sales were up 0.7 per cent to $67.

Bill Pratt hasn't paid some $70,000 in rent for his restaurants in Atlantic Canada since April after having to shutter operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a "critical" sales drop.

VICTORIA — British Columbia's top doctor is urging residents to stay close to home over the long weekend in order to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 before some businesses reopen on Tuesday. Provincial health officer Dr.

TORONTO — No one knows when a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases will emerge in Canada, but experts agree numbers are poised to rise and could very well explode in surveillance blindspots.

MONTREAL — Air Canada will lay off more than half of its 38,000 employees next month as it grapples with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW YORK — The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the storied but troubled department store chain J.C. Penney into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth major retailer to meet that fate.

WASHINGTON — As businesses reopened Friday in more of the U.S.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said Friday that Wall Street remains vulnerable to another shock if the global pandemic takes an “unexpected course” putting renewed strains on the economy and the country's financial system.