Business

WASHINGTON — Despite the strongest public support and the most sympathetic president in years, the American labour movement just suffered a stinging defeat — again. Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, overwhelmingly voted against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union in much-anticipated election results announced Friday. Amazon and business groups celebrated the decision, […]

BEIJING — Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China’s biggest internet companies including Alibaba at a time when the industry is […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress to sharply increase spending to combat climate change and gun violence in a budget that marks a sharp departure from his predecessor, Donald Trump. The $1.5 trillion budget, reflecting an 8% increase in base funding from the current year, would invest billions more in public transportation and […]

Amazon is heading into the final stretch of a union push in Bessemer, Alabama with a sizeable lead over labour organizers. With nearly half the ballots counted Thursday night, 1,100 warehouse workers had rejected the union while 463 voted in favour of it. The count will resume Friday morning in Birmingham, Alabama, where agents for […]

Amazon workers voted against forming a union at a warehouse in Alabama, handing the online retail giant a decisive victory and cutting off a path that labour activists had hoped would lead to similar efforts throughout the company and beyond. After months of aggressive campaigning from both sides, 1,798 warehouse workers ultimately rejected the union […]

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau says Ottawa is looking at expanding the categories of essential workers allowed to travel across the Canada-U.S. border. He told a parliamentary committee Thursday that could mean allowing technicians in the integrated auto industry to be considered essential workers for cross-border purposes. “We are specifically talking about different […]

EDMONTON — The number of Canadians on the brink of financial insolvency has reached a five-year high, with more than half of people $200 or less away from being unable able to meet their financial obligations each month, according to a recent survey. As pandemic-related financial support and loan deferral programs slow down and ongoing […]

THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — The head of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce says policy-makers should dramatically increase the country’s housing supply, as sales and prices soar to record levels in cities including Toronto and Vancouver. CIBC chief executive Victor Dodig said heated housing conditions could be alleviated with more urban and suburban density, along […]

TORONTO — The head of Royal Bank of Canada says the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a critical need for society to become more equitable, sustainable and prepared to handle future challenges. “The forced pause in our busy and often over-programmed lives has allowed us to really see that we have not created the best society […]

HUNTSVILLE, ONT. — Real estate is often the financial foundation for many families. You can’t put a price on the dream of home ownership, but you can hope prices head lower. In fact, more than one in five Canadians are hoping for a home-price crash according to a new report from the Angus Reid Institute. Twenty-two per cent of […]