National Business

TORONTO — Ontario residents should celebrate the upcoming winter holidays only with the people they live with, regardless of the COVID-19 situation in their region, the provincial government said Wednesday.

CALGARY — Canadian exports of crude oil by rail are bouncing back after falling to an eight-year low in July.

WASHINGTON — At their meeting earlier this month, Federal Reserve officials discussed possible future adjustments to the central bank's monthly bond purchases to boost the economy. The Fed on Wednesday released minutes of its Nov.

Calgary-based Imperial Oil Ltd. said Wednesday it is laying off about 200 of its 6,000 employees across Canada as part of a cost-cutting initiative due to low oil prices.

BRP Inc. reported an improved outlook for the rest of the year on Wednesday as the company’s third-quarter earnings results beat analysts’ expectations and it raised its guidance for its full financial year.

BERLIN — German media giant Bertelsmann said Wednesday that its Penguin Random House division is buying rival Simon & Schuster in a megadeal that would reshape the U.S. publishing industry.

OTTAWA — The Canada Emergency Response Benefit was a financial lifeline for many when COVID-19 forced businesses to shutter and brought the economy to a screeching halt in the spring.

NEW YORK — “No New ‘Movies’ Till Influenza Ends” blared a New York Times headline on Oct. 10, 1918, while the deadly second wave of the Spanish Flu was unfolding.

WASHINGTON — Gripped by the accelerating viral outbreak, the U.S. economy is under pressure from persistent layoffs, diminished income and nervous consumers, whose spending is needed to drive a recovery from the pandemic.

NEW YORK — “No New ‘Movies’ Till Influenza Ends” blared a New York Times headline on Oct. 10, 1918, while the deadly second wave of the Spanish Flu was unfolding.