National Business

MONTREAL — Laurentian Bank Financial Group reported its second-quarter profit fell nearly 80 per cent from a year ago and it cut its dividend in a move to give it more flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

EDMONTON — CWB Financial Group reported its second-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as the economy tanked due to the steps taken to slow the COVID-19 pandemic and its provisions for credit losses more than doubled.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is expected to report today that economic growth swung negative in March and the first quarter as a whole due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PARIS — Struggling French carmaker Renault on Friday announced 15,000 job cuts worldwide as part of a 2 billion-euro cost-cutting plan over three years.

TORONTO — Aimia Inc. says it plans to defend itself against a move by Air Canada in Quebec Superior Court to halt a merger that the smaller company sees as key to its corporate reinvention.

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus crisis threw at least 2.

TORONTO — Huawei Technologies Co.'s push to become a leading supplier of 5G technology in Canada appears to be in jeopardy after the Chinese tech giant's CFO suffered a legal setback in a B.C. court, prompting an angry response from Beijing.

MONTREAL — Business at Canadian National Railway Co. has gone downhill since mid-March, leading to thousands of temporary job cuts at the company as the COVID-19 pandemic rips into a sector that serves as a barometer of economic cycles.

DETROIT — Tesla confirmed Thursday that CEO Elon Musk will get the first tranche worth nearly $770 million of a stock-based compensation package triggered by the company meeting several financial metrics.

VANCOUVER — Clothing retailer Aritzia Inc. expects its net revenue is about 45 per cent lower for the current quarter compared with the same time last year due to COVID-19 related store closures and despite a significant spike in online sales.