National Business

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in May dropped 23 per cent compared with April as starts of apartments, condos and other types of multi-unit housing projects in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal fell.

TORONTO — Canadians are struggling to save for retirement, with many planning to push back the next phase of their life amid inflation and higher interest rates, according to a new survey from the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

CALGARY — Canada has no hope of reaching its 2050 climate goals unless it can find a way to speed up the approvals process for major projects in this country, a new report states.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation may be cooling — just not yet fast enough for the Federal Reserve.

TORONTO — BCE Inc. announced Wednesday that it is cutting 1,300 positions, around three per cent of its workforce, and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to "significantly adapt" how it delivers the news.

MONTREAL — Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. reported a net loss of $3.8 million in its first quarter, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million a year earlier. The Montreal-based retailer says sales for the quarter ended April 29 were $165.0 million, up 7.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Oregon says the electric utility PacifiCorp must pay punitive damages for causing devastating wildfires in 2020 — on top of an earlier verdict already expected to amount to billions of dollars.

TORONTO — Strength in industrials and metals helped buoy Canada's main stock index amid energy weakness Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets were mixed after the country's central bank held interest rates steady.

TORONTO — BCE Inc. is cutting 1,300 positions, shutting or selling nine radio stations and closing two foreign bureaus as the company plans to "significantly adapt" how it delivers the news in the face of rising financial pressure.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Wednesday that Canada will halt all government-led activity at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank after a Canadian citizen tendered his resignation from the financial institution.