National Business

BEIJING — Chinese regulators on Thursday announced an anti-monopoly investigation of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, stepping up the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to control fast-growing tech industries.

Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday after stocks eked out small gains on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the economy. Benchmarks rose in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney.

CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. says it is selling power transmission assets in Canada and the United States for $439 million to its majority owned subsidiary TransAlta Renewables Inc.

WASHINGTON — A late-term manoeuvr by President Donald Trump to use lower drug prices paid overseas to limit some of Medicare's own costs suffered a legal setback Wednesday that appears likely to keep the policy from taking effect before the president

TORONTO — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says Canadian broker-dealers Cormark Securities Inc. and ITG Canada Corp. have agreed to pay a total of US$1 million to settle charges of improper trading procedures.

IQALUIT, Nunavut — A Toronto-based company says it has plans to bring fibre-optic internet to Iqaluit, Nunavut, in 2022.

TORONTO — Worries about a new COVID-19 strain in the U.K. that affected stock trading earlier this week seemed to evaporate on Wednesday as most North American markets rose in a tide of pre-Christmas optimism.

CALGARY — An unexpected rebound in wood product prices this month is boosting profits for Canadian forestry companies but leaving homeowners and buyers with the prospect of higher home and renovation costs in 2021.

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador is giving $38 million to the Hibernia offshore oil project in a bid to protect 148 jobs over 18 months.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (17,593.57, up 41.11 points.) TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Energy. Up 23 cents, or 0.44 per cent, to $52.83 on 6.5 million shares.