National Business

WASHINGTON — Canada is fortifying a long-standing front in its ongoing battle with protectionist impulses in the United States: resurrecting the Second World War-era notion of the two continental allies working together to stockpile the arsenal of de

TORONTO — Hot off winning two Grammys on Sunday, Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. has sold the rights for part of his song catalogue to a prominent music investment company.

TORONTO — The parent company of the master franchisee of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China says it has signed a deal for the exclusive development of Popeyes in mainland China and Macau. TH International Ltd.

TORONTO — Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. says its share of the latest quarterly profit of the asset management business it owns with Brookfield Corp. amounted to US$19 million.

TORONTO — Automakers have made high-profile price cuts for some of the most well-known electric cars this year, but experts say the overall sticker shock of buying vehicles will prove harder to remove.

TORONTO — Brookfield Reinsurance has signed a deal to buy Argo Group International Holdings for US$1.1 billion in cash. Argo is a U.S. focused underwriter of specialty insurance products.

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft’s stalled $68.7 billion deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard has hit a fresh hurdle in the United Kingdom, where the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it will stifle competition and hurt gamers.

TORONTO — TMX Group Ltd. is proposing to split its shares on a five-for-one basis. The operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange says it believes the split may encourage greater liquidity for its shares. Shares in the company closed at $133.

MONTREAL — Héroux-Devtek Inc. reported a profit of $1.8 million in its latest quarter, down from $6.5 million a year earlier as its sales climbed higher.

OTTAWA — Inflation has eroded purchasing power for many Canadians, but the experience with rapidly rising prices has been far from uniform.