Business Buzz


Break on softwood – for now
The Canadian Press - Aug 28, 2017 - Business Buzz

Canadian softwood lumber producers are getting a temporary reprieve with the ending of preliminary countervailing duties. Most lumber companies will pay 6.87 per cent in anti-dumping tariffs after a 19.88 rate for countervailing duties formally ended as of Saturday. Five producers singled out have paid duties between 9.89 and 30.88 per cent. All others paid […]

Helping Houston rebuild
The Canadian Press - Aug 28, 2017 - Business Buzz

Texans forced from their flooded homes by unprecedented water levels may get help rebuilding from a Canadian forestry company. Seth Kursman, a vice president with Resolute Forest Products, has committed to sending a rail car full of lumber to Houston once the storm-battered city begins to recover from the devastation wrought by hurricane Harvey. Watching […]

GE plant sheds 358 jobs
The Canadian Press - Aug 25, 2017 - Business Buzz

More than 350 workers at a General Electric plant in Peterborough, Ont., will be losing their jobs as the 125-year-old facility ceases manufacturing next year. Kim Warburton, a spokeswoman for GE Canada, said a drop in global demand for the company’s goods prompted the decision that was announced Friday. The plant currently produces large engines […]

UK to test driverless trucks
The Canadian Press - Aug 25, 2017 - Business Buzz

Britain is set to conduct road trials of self-driving trucks, involving a “platoon” of vehicles controlled by a driver in the front. The Department for Transport said Friday that up to three trucks will travel in convoy, connected by Wi-Fi and with braking and acceleration controlled by the lead vehicle. Officials say the formation saves […]

Prison for VW engineer?
The Canadian Press - Aug 25, 2017 - Business Buzz

U.S. prosecutors will seek a three-year prison sentence on Friday for a Volkswagen engineer who had a key role in the company’s diesel emissions scandal. Robert Liang, 63, was one of two VW employees to plead guilty in the scheme, although others charged in the case are in Germany and out of reach. He is […]

Sears to close more stores
The Canadian Press - Aug 24, 2017 - Business Buzz

Sears Holdings Corp. says it will close more stores in the United States following declining sales and heightened competition in its fiscal second quarter. The retailer has been trying to cut costs by closing stores, including 180 this year, and already had plans to cut another 150 stores. It now plans to shutter an additional […]

Green sector building jobs
The Canadian Press - Aug 23, 2017 - Business Buzz

New research says the green building sector is creating jobs in British Columbia. The Pembina Institute says there are 31,700 people employed in the sector, up from the 23,200 who were counted when its map of green buildings was launched in 2015. It says the growth in the number of jobs is mostly because of […]

Record household debt
The Canadian Press - Aug 23, 2017 - Business Buzz

Unprecedented household debt levels will give Canadians a rude awakening on their unpaid credit card bills if another economic downturn materializes in the coming years, according to a new report issued Wednesday. Moody’s Investors Service it will be closely watching Alberta and Saskatchewan for signs of increased delinquencies on consumer debt portfolios. The two provinces […]

Average mortgage up 5%
The Canadian Press - Aug 22, 2017 - Business Buzz

TransUnion Canada says the average amount owing on mortgages was up nearly five per cent in the second quarter, even though a change in Ontario regulations last spring appears to have reduced the volume of home sales. The credit monitoring agency says the average mortgage balance in this year’s second quarter was $198,781, up 4.8 […]

Beer battle a threat to nation
The Canadian Press - Aug 22, 2017 - Business Buzz

A battle over cross-border beer sales threatens to end Canadian federalism as it was originally conceived, the New Brunswick government argues in a submission to the country’s top court. In a statement of facts to the Supreme Court of Canada, the province says allowing a New Brunswick man to purchase alcohol in a Quebec border […]