National Business

TORONTO — A proposal to take Indigo Books & Music Inc. private would allow the company to get back on track with less scrutiny and more flexibility than if it remained public, experts say.

NEW YORK (AP) — Big Tech stocks carried Wall Street to another record high, even as many stocks fell amid worries about the downside of a too-hot economy. Big gains for Meta Platforms and Amazon pushed the S&P 500 index up 1.1% Friday.

Instead of enticing a foreign grocer to come to Canada, some experts say Ottawa should look at ways to support smaller and regional grocery companies to boost competition.

EDMONTON — The mandatory ban on non-essential water use in Edmonton and surrounding communities has been lifted. Water-operator Epcor says repairs have been completed at the affected treatment plant and the system has stabilized.

CALGARY — As Canada's energy sector ramps up for the anticipated start-up of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Imperial Oil Ltd. reported its highest production levels in over 30 years in the fourth quarter of 2023.

VANCOUVER — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouversays home sales got off to a strong start in the first month of 2024 but the pace of newly listed properties did not keep up with demand. The board says January home sales totalled 1,427, a 38.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers delivered a stunning burst of hiring to begin 2024, adding 353,000 jobs in January in the latest sign of the economy’s continuing ability to shrug off the highest interest rates in two decades.

OTTAWA — Business insolvencies rose 57.2 per cent in December compared with a year earlier, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. For the entire year, business insolvencies were up 41.

LONDON (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg was acquitted Friday of refusing to follow a police order to leave a protest blocking the entrance to a major oil and gas industry conference in London last year.

TORONTO — DesRosiers Automotive Consultants says auto sales jumped 14.9 per cent in January compared with the year before. Manufacturers reported an estimated 112,862 transactions for the month, up from 98,259 units in January 2023.