National Business

TORONTO — International travellers arriving at Toronto's Pearson airport can now be tested for COVID-19 as part of a voluntary study to explore the effectiveness of quarantines.

OTTAWA — As fixed-rate mortgage rate offerings tumble, those with variable loans thinking about switching over and locking in need to consider more than just the rate, experts say. James Laird, co-founder of Ratehub.

WASHINGTON — Growth in the U.S. services sector, where most Americans work, slowed in August after big rebounds in June and July, indicating lingering problems stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — International port operator DP World reached a deal Thursday with one of Canada’s biggest pension-fund managers to pour an additional US$4.5 billion into their joint venture of ports and terminals.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — U.S. productivity rose at a 10.1% rate in the second quarter as the number of hours worked declined by the largest amount since the government started compiling the data more than 70 years ago.

OTTAWA — Canada's merchandise trade deficit was $2.45 billion in July as both imports and exports continued to post strong gains, but remained below pre-pandemic levels, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

VICTORIA — The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the British Columbia government to delay implementation of several taxes, including increasing the carbon tax.

The board of directors for Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications Inc. say their independent members have rejected a hostile bid from a New York firm that offered $10.3 billion to buy the telecommunications companies.

United Airlines said Wednesday it plans to furlough 16,370 employees in October, a smaller number than the airline predicted in July because thousands of workers agreed to leave with the travel industry facing a slow recovery from the pandemic.

WASHINGTON — The latest Federal Reserve survey of U.S. economic activity found generally modest gains in August but also pessimism about the future given the threats posed by the coronavirus.