National Business

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in August slowed 22 per cent compared with July.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans spent a bit more at retailers last month, providing a small boost to the economy just as the Federal Reserve considers how much to cut its key interest rate. Retail sales ticked up 0.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union announced Tuesday that it has chosen its leader, Friedrich Merz, to be its candidate for chancellor in next year's national election.

DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A massive pipeline explosion that sent a towering flame over neighborhoods near Houston for hours on Monday began after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said.

OTTAWA — The Liberals sharpened their attacks on the Conservatives as the House of Commons returned from its summer break on Monday with the prospect of a snap election looming large.

OMAHA, Neb.

For the first time in their history, members of the Cree community of Nemaska received a visit from a sitting Quebec premier on Sunday and were able to share first-hand the story of how they were displaced by a hydroelectric project in the 1970s.

EDMONTON — Alberta's energy minister is promising strong action by next fall to clean up the province's growing backlog of unreclaimed oil and gas sites.

MONTREAL — Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.

HALIFAX — Some Halifax-area landlords on Monday defended their use of fixed-term leases as necessary to recoup costs under Nova Scotia’s rent cap, despite criticism the leases help property owners skirt the rules.