National Business

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index posted modest gains Wednesday as strength in energy and technology, among other sectors, helped outweigh weakness in base metals, while U.S. markets were mixed.

TORONTO — Unifor says it has kicked off the bargaining process with the Detroit Three automakers on the next collective agreements for about 18,000 workers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted to a mixed close on Wednesday. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1%, but held on to a gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

MONTREAL — Convenience store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. said its profits rose in the fourth quarter as consumers travelled more and it continued to expand its global network. The Laval, Que.

CALGARY — Canadians heading out on the road for the July 1 long weekend are going to find filling up at the pumps much less shock-inducing than it was a year ago. The national average gasoline price hit an all-time high — surpassing $2.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Leading global central bankers asserted Wednesday that they are not backing off their steep interest rate increases, pointing to inflation being more persistent than expected but still downplaying fears of recession from the

TORONTO — What’s happening with Postmedia and Nordstar? Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Nordstar Capital LP are in talks about a potential merger.

Canadian retailer Indigo Books and Music Inc. said cooling consumer spending compounded the effects of a ransomware attack against the company in February, dragging down its earnings amid a board of directors shakeup.

TORONTO — Decades of low interest rates and strong housing demand have led to high levels of household debt for Canadians, and now rising interest rates are increasing the cost of servicing that debt.

TORONTO — Thomson Reuters Corp. has signed a deal to buy Imagen Ltd., a company that helps sports organizations, businesses and media companies manage their digital content libraries on the cloud. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.