National Business

HALIFAX — Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia's privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at another all-time high after recouping its losses from early September. The S&P 500 rose close to its own record, but was held back by losses in Big Tech companies like Apple and Nvidia.

The lead engineer for an experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreck of the Titanic testified Monday that he felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive and refused to pilot it.

In an era of increased strike activity and union power, labour experts say it’s not surprising to see more calls for government intervention in certain sectors like transportation.

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick's finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March. Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province's original $40.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely "stuck in a holding pattern" despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.

OTTAWA — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has announced changes to mortgage rules she says are aimed at helping more Canadians to purchase their first home.

MONTREAL — AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. says it has signed a deal with U.K. rail infrastructure owner Network Rail to help upgrade and digitize its signalling over the next 10 years.

WINNIPEG — Some 250 coloured tacks pepper a large-scale world map among bookshelves at Whodunit Mystery Bookstore. Estonia, Finland, Japan and even Fenwick, Ont.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors. The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.