National Business

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is expanding its insured mortgage purchase program to $150 billion as part of its response to the COVID-19 crisis.

WASHINGTON — The economy grew by a moderate 2.1% in the fourth quarter of last year, but many economists believe that will be the last positive growth seen for some time as the country endures a sharp contraction due to the coronavirus.

VANCOUVER — Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. says its San Jose silver and gold mine in southwestern Mexico is resuming operations today.

BERLIN — Locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the nightclubs in the German capital have decided to keep the beat going — at least online. Berlin's nightclubs were closed March 13 to help slow the spread of the virus.

NEW YORK — A fixture on television, actress Julie Bowen of “Modern Family” is doing the same thing as millions of other people during the widespread coronavirus shutdown. She's sitting at home, watching more television than she normally would.

TORONTO — Centerra Gold Inc. is suspending open pit mining at its Oksut project in Turkey in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. The suspension of work at the project starting March 31 is for an initial period of two weeks.

TORONTO — Nestle Canada is giving a temporary raise to its employees in its factories and distribution centres across the country as deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

BEIJING — Asian stocks were mixed Thursday after Wall Street gained as U.S. lawmakers wrangled over a proposed $2 trillion virus aid package. Market benchmarks in Tokyo and Shanghai declined. Australia and Southeast Asian markets gained.

TORONTO — Ontario introduced a $17-billion package Wednesday to support the province through the COVID-19 outbreak, including an influx of cash for the health sector, direct payments to parents, and tax breaks for businesses.

Grocers and third-party services are seeing an influx in demand for delivery, resulting in longer-than-normal wait times as health and government authorities urge people to practice social distancing amid the COVID-19 outbreak.