National Business

TORONTO — COVID-19 cases among agri-food workers in Windsor-Essex have spiked this week, the Ontario region's top doctor said Wednesday, as a provincial effort to test all migrant workers for the virus ramped up.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (15,701.33, down 132.41 points.) Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ). Energy. Down $1.29, or 4.54 per cent, to $27.15 on 36.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index lost some ground midweek on weakness by the key energy and financials sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 132.41 points at 15,701.33. Activity was mixed in the United States.

Each day, SoHo hotel general manager David Kelley hears the sound of his footsteps echoing off the marble floors and panelled walls as he walks across the lobby, a space as empty as the 89 rooms above him. "It is very quiet.

TORONTO — Starbucks is planning to close up to 200 coffee shops across Canada as it responds to changes in consumer habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is releasing a new book laying out his vision for a more equitable post-pandemic economy.

Dollarama Inc. experienced a drop in profit during its most recent quarter, but still topped the expectations of analysts who believed the pandemic would weigh more on the company's bottom line.

CALGARY — Lowe's Canada says work will start this month on a new distribution centre located northeast of Calgary designed to improve its in-store and online operations in Western Canada.

PARIS — The virus crisis has triggered the worst global recession in nearly a century -- and the pain is not over yet even if there is no second wave of infections, an international economic report warned Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices dropped in May for the third straight month as the coronavirus pandemic pushed the American economy into a recession. The Labor Department said Wednesday that its consumer price index fell 0.