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TORONTO — Real estate watchers say the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its key policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent will likely keep a sluggish housing market at the status quo.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. shoppers stepped up their shopping last month, fueled by a spending spree on big ticket items, particularly cars, before President Donald Trump’s expansive new tariffs started kicking in.

FORT ST. JOHN — A contractor has been killed and another person hurt in a fire in a gas plant north of Fort St. John, B.C. Alberta-based Tourmaline Oil, which runs the Gundy oil and gas extraction facility in Wonowon, B.C.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index rose more than 200 points Tuesday, led by gains in technology and financial stocks, while U.S. stocks moved lower to erase gains from earlier in the day. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 201.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed close in a rare quiet day for financial markets worldwide. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1%.

OTTAWA — A surprise slowdown in inflation last month has turned the Bank of Canada's interest rate decision on Wednesday into a coin toss, with some economists leaning toward a hold and others saying a cut is warranted.

TORONTO — CIBC has become a founding partner of the WNBA-expansion Toronto Tempo. CIBC will become the basketball team's official bank and appear on team jerseys when the Tempo begin play in 2026.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says total manufacturing sales rose to their highest level since September 2023 as they climbed 0.2 per cent to $72.9 billion in February.

News of relaxed U.S. tariffs on smartphones and other electronics helped propel gains on Canadian and U.S. stock markets on Monday after last week's dizzying ups and downs.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A historic antitrust trial began Monday for Meta Platforms Inc.