National Business

TORONTO — BMO Financial Group's chief executive says the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed his bank to get more serious about artificial intelligence, diversity and climate change.

HALIFAX — Former federal cabinet minister Scott Brison has been tapped to head a new body that will advise Nova Scotia's Liberal government on the economy.

LONDON — Ryanair, Europe’s biggest discount airline, says earnings for the current fiscal year are likely to be “close to breakeven” as continued travel restrictions delay its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW YORK — Saks Fifth Avenue is joining a growing list of retailers and brands including Macy's, Versace and Prada that will stop using animal fur as it reacts to a backlash from consumers.

OTTAWA — Canada posted a merchandise trade surplus for a second consecutive month in February, the first time that's happened since late 2016.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. trade deficit grew to a record $71.

NEW YORK — Even an NCAA championship matchup between two widely acknowledged as the best men's college basketball teams in the country wasn't enough to set the television world afire. An estimated 16.

NEW DELHI — The world's largest vaccine maker, based in India, will be able to restart exports of AstraZeneca doses by June if new coronavirus infections subside in the country, its chief executive said Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of running a $227 million Ponzi scheme that solicited investors for phoney film licensing deals, federal prosecutors said.

Spartan Bioscience Inc. has filed for creditor protection after pausing shipments of its rapid COVID-19 test due to an issue with the product. The Ottawa-based company said some customers were getting a high level of inconclusive results.