National Business

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government on Friday designated a large area off the New England coast for offshore wind production development, setting the stage for a possible lease sale within the Gulf of Maine. The U.S.

OTTAWA — The pace of home construction rose in February as builders started on more apartments and condos, but the industry continues to struggle under cost pressures. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

LONDON (AP) — McDonald's apologized Friday for a global technology outage that shuttered some restaurants for hours. The company said the outage was caused by a third-party technology provider and was not a cybersecurity issue.

In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a massive solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the sun is shining and supply energy back to the electric grid when it's not.

CALGARY — High Tide Inc. says it has signed a deal to acquire premium cannabis brand Queen of Bud's intellectual property. Calgary-based pot retailer High Tide says it will pay $1 million for the IP, trademarks and other assets owned by Queen of Bud.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.1 per cent to $82.4 billion in January.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers became slightly less optimistic about the economy this month, though they continue to expect inflation to cool further, a potential sign that price increases will keep slowing.

TORONTO — The usual sight of green-clad revellers celebrating St. Patrick's Day is expected across Canada on Sunday — but compared with a decade ago, fewer of them will be indulging in alcohol.

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan and Honda said Friday they will work together on developing electric vehicles and auto intelligence technology to pool resources in a sector where Japanese automakers have fallen behind. The chief executives of Nissan Motor Co.

MONTREAL — A federal tribunal on Thursday reiterated its stance that Montreal port employers cannotrequire employees to work during a strike, paving the way for negotiations to resume ahead of potential job action.