National Business

TORONTO — CBRE says Canada’s national office vacancy rate hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year. The real estate firm says the country's overall office vacancy rate amounted to 17.7 per cent, while downtown office vacancies sat at 18.

WINNIPEG — The Canada Life Assurance Co. has signed a deal to acquire wealth management firm Investment Planning Counsel Inc. from IGM Financial Inc. for $575 million.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Environmentalists lost the first round of their legal battle over a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope on Monday as a judge rejected their requests to halt immediate construction work related to the Willow

FORT MCKAY, ALBERTA — Oilsands giant Syncrude Canada Ltd. has been charged in the death of a worker north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia said they're cutting supplies of crude — again. This time, the decision was a surprise and is underlining worries about where the global economy might be headed.

MONTREAL — The second quarter kicked off with a bang Monday after a spike in oil prices boosted Canada’s main stock index by nearly 180 points, even as fears of further inflation and a looming recession grew.

TORONTO — The head of Rogers Communications Inc. pledged to lower costs for customers and brushed aside competition concerns after the company closed its $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications Inc. on Monday.

VANCOUVER — Avison Young says Vancouver's downtown office vacancy rate has hit 10 per cent for the first time in almost 20 years. The real estate firm says the first quarter of this year brought Vancouver's downtown office vacancy rate to 10.

PHOENIX (AP) — A giant red spoon that was stolen from an Arizona Dairy Queen and sparked a mystery on social media was found Monday morning, and it's partly thanks to Pokémon GO.

CALGARY — A growing number of Canadian corporations are pursuing cultural awareness training in order to get better at recruiting and retaining Indigenous employees.