National Business

LONDON — BP plc says third-quarter earnings plunged 96% as the COVID-19 pandemic reduced energy prices and demand.

TORONTO — Canadian toymaker Spin Master Corp. is taking Rubik's Cube for another spin around the block.

TORONTO — A memoir featuring small-town Chinese restaurants and the families who run them in Canada has won two major book awards.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Maple Leaf Foods Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $66 million, up from $13.4 million in the same quarter last year, as its sales also climbed higher.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. consumer confidence dipped slightly in October as a new wave of coronavirus cases appeared across the country. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 100.9, from 101.

WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose a stronger-than-expected 1.9% in September with a key category that tracks business investment showing a solid gain as well. The uptick in orders followed a smaller 0.

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices posted a robust gain in August — another sign that the American housing market remains strong despite economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Shares skidded in Asia on Tuesday after surging coronavirus cases and waning hopes for U.S. economic stimulus gave Wall Street its worst day in a month. Stock benchmarks fell in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney.

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s governor is urging people in the state’s counties hit hardest by the pandemic to take stricter steps to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Gov.

BEIJING — China has ordered six U.S.-based news media to file detailed information about their operations in China the latest volley in a monthslong battle with the Trump administration.