National Business

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (13,958.58, down 299.85 points.) Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA). Health care. Up 24 cents, or 4.72 per cent, to $5.33 on 10.7 million shares.

BRP Inc. announced Wednesday it would temporarily lay off office workers as part of cost reduction measures prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TORONTO — North American stock markets fell midweek on ominous new signs about the virus-weakened economy.

Canadian home sales nosedived in March as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold and caused both buyers and sellers to pull back. The Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday that home sales last month were down 14.

MONTREAL — Canada's two main railways face a bleak year ahead as a looming recession weighs on freight volumes.

TORONTO — More signs of trouble emerged in Canada's telecommunications sector as a result of COVID-19 this week when Shaw Communications announced it would temporarily lay off 10 per cent of its workforce despite surging demand for wireless, internet

NEW YORK — The major banks in the U.S. are anticipating a flood of loan defaults as households and business customers take a big financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic.

HALIFAX — A small Halifax area sign company faced a bit of a problem when it realized it could retool to help provide thousands of face shields for health workers battling COVID-19 — a scarcity of material.

CALGARY — Shares in Calgary-based Vermilion Energy Inc. and Surge Energy Inc. plunged on Wednesday after they announced the suspension of their dividend programs in response to persistently low oil prices.

Aphria Inc. has suspended its outlook for the year even though it has avoided some of the COVID-19 effects that have ravaged competitors. Executives from the Leamington, Ont., company revealed Wednesday that its third quarter, which ended Feb.