National Business

TORONTO — Urgency was the key word at an electric vehicle conference Wednesday as manufacturers emphasized the need for more coordination and government support in order to take advantage of the tectonic shift underfoot in the automotive industry.

WASHINGTON — Canada is fortifying a long-standing front in its ongoing battle with protectionist impulses in the United States: resurrecting the Second World War-era notion of the two continental allies working together to stockpile the arsenal of de

TORONTO — Hot off winning two Grammys on Sunday, Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. has sold the rights for part of his song catalogue to a prominent music investment company.

TORONTO — The parent company of the master franchisee of Tim Hortons coffee shops in China says it has signed a deal for the exclusive development of Popeyes in mainland China and Macau. TH International Ltd.

TORONTO — Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. says its share of the latest quarterly profit of the asset management business it owns with Brookfield Corp. amounted to US$19 million.

TORONTO — Automakers have made high-profile price cuts for some of the most well-known electric cars this year, but experts say the overall sticker shock of buying vehicles will prove harder to remove.

TORONTO — Brookfield Reinsurance has signed a deal to buy Argo Group International Holdings for US$1.1 billion in cash. Argo is a U.S. focused underwriter of specialty insurance products.

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft’s stalled $68.7 billion deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard has hit a fresh hurdle in the United Kingdom, where the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it will stifle competition and hurt gamers.

TORONTO — TMX Group Ltd. is proposing to split its shares on a five-for-one basis. The operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange says it believes the split may encourage greater liquidity for its shares. Shares in the company closed at $133.

MONTREAL — Héroux-Devtek Inc. reported a profit of $1.8 million in its latest quarter, down from $6.5 million a year earlier as its sales climbed higher.