National Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year's coronavirus recession.

TORONTO — BHP Lonsdale Investments Pty Ltd. is extending is takeover offer for Noront Resources Ltd. as it continues talks with a major shareholder in the company regarding support for its proposal.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — NASA launched a spacecraft Tuesday night on a mission to smash into an asteroid and test whether it would be possible to knock a speeding space rock off course if one were to threaten Earth.

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. says its proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern could be approved in about a year, after the U.S. regulator established a schedule for its regulatory review.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a record 50 million barrels of oil released from America's strategic reserve, aiming to bring down gasoline and other costs, in coordination with other major energy consuming nations including

Samsung said it plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor factory outside of Austin, Texas, amid a global shortage of chips used in phones, cars and other electronic devices.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tucker Carlson reached 5.05 million viewers for his Kyle Rittenhouse interview on Monday , the Fox News Channel opinion host's largest audience since the night of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

TORONTO — A new report from Canada's Semiconductor Council says the country should form a government-led consortium of chip buyers by 2025 to overcome a global shortage crippling manufacturers and prevent further troubles.

LAVAL, Que. — Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is boosting its quarterly dividend by nearly 26 per cent even as its net earnings decreased in its latest quarter despite higher revenues.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (21,453.77, up 33 points.) Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Up 91 cents, or 2.84 per cent, to $33 on 24 million shares.