National Business

TORONTO — The head of EQB Inc. says customers are largely weathering the shock of high interest rates.

OTTAWA — Canada's banking regulator has left unchanged how much money the Big Six banks have to hold for a potential economic downturn.

EDMONTON — CWB Financial Group raised its dividend as it reported its fourth-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago. The Edmonton-based bank says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share, an increase of a penny.

MOSCOW — Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win.

The bread supplier that admitted to price-fixing earlier this year says in new court filings that any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods.

OTTAWA — Five people have died in a salmonella outbreak linked to Malichita and Rudy brand cantaloupes sold in six provinces.

MONTREAL — Canada has received a C grade on flight safety oversight — down from an A+ almost two decades ago and far below most of its peers — according to a draft report from a United Nations agency.

OTTAWA — The incoming leader of the Assembly of First Nations says she'll back demands by chiefs in Ontario for a judicial review of Canada's carbon price.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is facing a record $68 billion budget deficit, state officials announced Thursday, forcing hard choices for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in his final term as he works to build his national profile .

VANCOUVER — Lululemon Athletica Inc. says its net income for the third quarter was US$248.7 million, compared with US$255.6 million a year earlier. The Vancouver-based apparel company says net revenue for the quarter was US$2.2 billion, up from US$1.