National Business

CALGARY — Imperial Oil Ltd. is reducing its spending for this year by $1 billion, including a $500-million cut to its capital spending plan as it deals with the COVID-19 pandemic and crash in oil prices.

OTTAWA — The federal government is waiving the monthly rent paid by airport authorities to Ottawa for the rest of the year as revenues plummet amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

OTTAWA — Economic growth slowed in January in a snapshot of the economy before the COVID-19 outbreak hit home. Statistics Canada said Tuesday real gross domestic product grew 0.1 per cent in the first month of 2020 compared with an advance of 0.

BALTIMORE — U.S. home price growth was showing signs of acceleration in January, a sign of the solid demand that existed before the coronavirus outbreak caused millions of job losses and tossed the U.S. economy into a likely recession.

Restaurant costs for 2020 will be much lower than initially forecast as consumers spend more of their dining-out budgets at grocery stores instead, according to an updated food price report that predicts annual restaurant sales will be slashed in hal

TOKYO — Asian shares surged Tuesday after a rally in U.S. stocks, mostly spurred by health care companies' announcements of developments that could aid in the coronavirus outbreak. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% in morning trading to 19,243.

NEW YORK — Sony Pictures on Monday cleared out its summer calendar due to the coronavirus, postponing the releases of Jason Reitman's “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” and the Marvel movie “Morbius” to 2021.

OTTAWA — The federal government says it will help broadcasters deal with the fallout from COVID-19 by waiving $30 million usually paid by the industry to support the operations of Canada's telecommunications regulator.

VANCOUVER — A federally appointed panel has found the development of a new shipping container terminal south of Vancouver would result in "significant adverse" effects on endangered southern resident killer whales.

WUHAN, China — The city at the centre of China's virus outbreak was reopening for business Monday after authorities lifted more of the controls that locked downs tens of millions of people for two months.