National Business

Toronto fashion designer Hayley Elsaesser was unsure about adding face masks to her clothing brand two months ago, ordering just a "small amount" of samples to test out demand through her online shop.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed optimism Sunday that the U.S. economy can begin to recover from a devastating recession in the second half of the year, assuming the coronavirus doesn't erupt in a second wave.

TORONTO — Picturesque Peggy's Cove, N.S., is normally a great place to run a business but restaurant owner John Campbell hopes he can survive the cancellation of cruise ships this season because of COVID-19.

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Wholesale trade figures StatCan is scheduled to release wholesale trade figures for March on Wednesday. The agency reported that sales were up 0.7 per cent to $67.

Bill Pratt hasn't paid some $70,000 in rent for his restaurants in Atlantic Canada since April after having to shutter operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a "critical" sales drop.

VICTORIA — British Columbia's top doctor is urging residents to stay close to home over the long weekend in order to mitigate transmission of COVID-19 before some businesses reopen on Tuesday. Provincial health officer Dr.

TORONTO — No one knows when a fresh surge of COVID-19 cases will emerge in Canada, but experts agree numbers are poised to rise and could very well explode in surveillance blindspots.

MONTREAL — Air Canada will lay off more than half of its 38,000 employees next month as it grapples with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

NEW YORK — The coronavirus pandemic has pushed the storied but troubled department store chain J.C. Penney into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth major retailer to meet that fate.

WASHINGTON — As businesses reopened Friday in more of the U.S.