National Business

WASHINGTON — More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.

NEW YORK — The popcorn will be bring your own and the barbecue won't be as good, but the Austin, Texas, SXSW Film Festival is moving online after having its 27th edition cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic.

TORONTO — The biggest market downturn in more than a decade has rattled nerves and may ultimately force some investors to postpone their approaching retirements, say experts.

TORONTO — When Robert Prichard welcomed shareholders to Bank of Montreal’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, it was the first time the company's board chairman had done so without standing before shareholders in person.

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. hit an all-time record for March grain movement. Chief operating officer Rob Reilly says the 2.62 million tonnes of grain is a 6.1 per cent increase from 2017, the previous record for March.

OTTAWA — Canada's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $983 million in February compared with $1.7 billion in January, as the economic impact of COVID-19 showed some of its first signs with a drop in trade with China.

TORONTO — Canadian mining companies with assets in Mexico moved to suspend operations in the country as the Mexican government ordered non-essential businesses to close in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

Shoppers are facing empty shelves at some stores due to unprecedented demand for food and other goods even as grocers assure Canadians coping with the COVID-19 outbreak that plenty of new items are on the way and manufacturers say they have the raw m

BEIJING — Asian stocks were meandering Thursday after a White House warning that as many as 240,000 Americans might die of the coronavirus sent Wall Street tumbling and signs of the outbreak's global economic cost increased.

TORONTO — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says auto sales plunged 48 per cent in March from last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.