National Business

VANCOUVER — Shareholders in SSR Mining Inc. and Alacer Gold Corp. have endorsed a no-premium deal to merge operations. The Toronto-listed companies say 99.9 per cent of the votes cast by Alacer shareholders and 96.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (15,713.82, up 145.18 points.) Baytex Energy Corp. (TSX:BTE). Energy. Up three cents, or 4.48 per cent, to 70 cents on 8.8 million shares.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index ended higher for a second-straight week on positive sentiment from a potential COVID-19 treatment and strong domestic jobs numbers. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 145.18 points at 15,713.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba has posted one of the strongest employment rebounds in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada numbers show.

LONDON, Ont. — Retailer Scholar's Choice is closing all but three of its stores as part of a restructuring of its operations to focus on its e-commerce and catalogue business.

CALGARY — Shell Canada says the Quest carbon capture and storage project north of Edmonton has reached the milestone of five million tonnes of stored carbon dioxide, equivalent to the annual emissions of about 1.25 million cars.

TORONTO — Owners of the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea say they are going to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes to try to resolve a battle with the federal government that resulted in closing of the min

BISMARCK, N.D. — A federal judge rejected a request from the operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline to halt an order to shut down the oil pipeline during a lengthy environmental review. U.S.

OTTAWA — The national unemployment rate was 12.3 per cent in June. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities.

OTTAWA — Canada's national unemployment rate was 12.3 per cent in June. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets): — Newfoundland and Labrador 16.5 per cent (16.3) — Prince Edward Island 15.