National Business

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy posted lower fiscal second-quarter profits and sales as the nation's largest consumer electronics chain struggled with weakening consumer demand for gadgets and high costs that rippled through its supply chain.

TORONTO — Michele Romanow's e-commerce investing company Clearco has laid off 60 employees as it hands off its international business, a month after cutting 25 per cent of its workforce.

TORONTO — BMO Financial Group wrapped the Big Six earnings season with a drop in earnings as a pullback in capital markets more than offset gains from loan growth and improved returns on interest income. The bank reported earnings of $1.

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is projecting a surplus of $135.5 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year, a rise of $100 million compared to the government's estimate in the spring budget.

TORONTO — As Bell Media undergoes an independent workplace review after the dismissal of Lisa LaFlamme as CTV National News' chief anchor, one corporate governance expert cautions the move doesn't guarantee change.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of open jobs in the United States rose in July after three months of declines, a sign that employers are still urgently seeking workers despite slowing economic growth and high inflation.

TORONTO — Canadians eager to buy a home as the real estate market cools might find themselves considering micro-condos, but mortgage brokers say if you're thinking small, prepare for extra caveats when seeking financing.

OTTAWA — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., which has signed a deal to buy the Wilsons chain of gas stations in Atlantic Canada, has reached an agreement with the Competition Bureau to resolve its concerns over the acquisition.

MARKHAM, Ont. — Health officials in a southern Ontario municipality are investigating reports of several diners becoming seriously ill following a weekend meal at a restaurant in Markham.

OTTAWA — International Trade Minister Mary Ng says Canada is formally initiating a challenge of "unwarranted and unfair" U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber. The Canadian government filed notice of the challenge today under the U.S.