National Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting welcomed signs that inflation is slowing and highlighted data suggesting that the job market and the broader economy could be cooling.

The B.C. government says a new online portal launching this month will combat bad-faith evictions made by landlords who falsely claim to be putting a property to "personal use," only to increase rent on the unit.

Rental housing construction in Canada has picked up significantly and is expected to keep growing this year, according to a new RBC report. However, the report says more supply is needed to fill the backlog of demand.

VICTORIA — Three levels of government say they've finalized a deal that will provide more than $1.6 billion in federal funding over the next five years to communities in British Columbia, to build and maintain "critical infrastructure.

WASHINGTON (AP) — General Motors will pay nearly $146 million in penalties to the federal government because 5.9 million of its older vehicles don't comply with emissions and fuel economy standards.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s record-breaking rally kept going after weak reports on the economy kept the door open for possible cuts to interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% Wednesday to set an all-time high for the 33rd time this year.

HALIFAX — A boil-water advisory that had affected more than 200,000 people living and working in Halifax and the surrounding area was lifted Wednesday morning, 40 hours after it came into effect.

OTTAWA — Canada's merchandise trade deficit widened to $1.9 billion in May as exports fell to their lowest level since July last year. The result compared with a revised trade deficit of $1.3 billion for April, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

VANCOUVER — Greater Vancouver's real estate board says the number of homes sold in June tumbled 19.1 per cent from the previous year as inventory continued accumulating to levels not seen since the spring of 2019.

TORONTO — Ontario plans to help the province's beleaguered news industry with a change in advertising rules. The province has directed its four largest agencies to spend 25 per cent of its advertising dollars on Ontario publishers.