National Business

TORONTO — A rollercoaster week of trading for investors in GameStop, BlackBerry and other hot stocks has resulted in trading bans, warning labels for certain stocks and questions over both fairness and systemic risk in the financial system.

CALGARY — Ottawa says it is referring the impact assessment of a Suncor Energy Inc. oilsands mine extension in northern Alberta to an independent review panel.

FREDERICTON — A last-minute government injection of $720,000 appears to have saved bus routes in northern New Brunswick that a private bus operator wanted to cut because of a drop in ridership attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the last quarter of the year, putting all of 2020 in somewhat of a normal range as the pandemic continued to rankle the economy. Total U.S. workers compensation rose 0.

FORT MILL, S.C. — Domtar Corp. says president and chief executive John Williams has contracted COVID-19 and will take a temporary medical leave of absence.

HALIFAX — Customers at The Tare Shop in Halifax are creative with their containers: Some use classic jars but others reuse yogurt containers, pots and pans or even empty glass liquor bottles.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Michigan's environmental agency said Friday it has approved construction of an underground tunnel to house a replacement for a controversial oil pipeline in a channel linking two of the Great Lakes.

OTTAWA — Canada's economy appears to have suffered its worst year on record as the national statistics agency's preliminary estimate showed a contraction of 5.1 per cent in 2020.

BEIJING — The former head of a Chinese state-owned asset management company was executed Friday on charges of taking bribes in an unusually severe penalty for a recent corruption case. Lai Xiaomin of China Huarong Asset Management Co.

Caterpillar’s fourth-quarter sales dropped 15% as an unchecked pandemic continued to sap demand for big machinery, but the damage was not as bad as most had expected. Sales were $11.24 billion, down significantly from last year's $13.