National Business

TORONTO — An Ontario judge has ordered Hudson's Bay Co. to pay half the rent owing at one of its department stores, while blocking a landlord's attempt to evict the iconic retailer.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in October, the lowest reading in five months, suggesting that a price spike over the summer is beginning to fade as coronavirus cases spread. The flat reading for last month followed a gain of 0.

WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healing.

MONTREAL — Champion Iron Ltd. says it will move ahead with an expansion of its Bloom Lake open pit mining complex in northeastern Quebec that is expected to double capacity and create 375 new permanent jobs.

TORONTO — Castlepoint Numa Inc. says it has sold its minority interest in Pinewood Toronto Studios to majority shareholder Bell Media. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.

NEW YORK — The New Yorker has fired longtime staff writer Jeffrey Toobin after he reportedly exposed himself during a Zoom conference last month. He had already been on suspension and is also on leave from CNN, where he is chief legal analyst.

TORONTO — Brookfield Asset Management says it is creating BAM Reinsurance as a new publicly traded business similar to Brookfield Renewable and Brookfield Infrastructure.

TORONTO — Manulife Financial Corp. says more than $600 million in digital investments over the last two years are paying off as the company grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s that time of year when pamphlets featuring a beaming girl holding a baby goat arrive in your mailbox. An infomercial on TV describes the need for cancer research. A fundraiser for a food bank appears on social media.

LONDON — Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favourite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you.