National Business

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A former Singaporean cabinet minister was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of receiving illegal gifts, in a rare criminal case involving a minister in the Asian financial hub.

TORONTO — The recent decision by Canada's banking regulator to relax a mortgage stress test rule was shaped in part by concerns about public perception of the agency, said Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions head Peter Routledge.

MONTREAL — Transat A.T. Inc. is preparing to lay off up to 80 workers as the tour operator struggles to turn its finances around, according to a preliminary notice sent to the Quebec government.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index retreated from its all-time high on Wednesday, weighed down by telecom, industrial and utilities stocks, while U.S. markets drifted higher.

HALIFAX — About half of the 7,020 households on Nova Scotia's wait-list for public housing are composed of seniors, the deputy minister of housing said Wednesday, a number the opposition said should make the government feel ashamed.

CALGARY — The coming boom in artificial intelligence represents both a threat and an opportunity for the clean energy transition, market experts suggest.

A First Nation in southwestern Ontario has recommended some residents evacuate, citing the risk of elevated levels of a toxic chemical being removed from a neighboring Sarnia plastics plant.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close near their record levels. The S&P 500 ended little changed Wednesday, a day after sliding from its record on worries about a possible widening of the fighting in the Middle East.

MONTREAL — Swedish private equity firm Altor has signed a deal to buy CCM Hockey, as the two companies eye new demographics and try to build out the global market share of Canada's oldest hockey equipment maker.

Voters in New Brunswick are scheduled to go to the polls on Oct. 21. Here's a look at some of the promises announced by the three major parties: Progressive Conservatives: — Cut the harmonized sales tax by two points, from 15 per cent to 13 per cent.