National Business

MONTREAL — The massive outage on Canadian National Railway Co. lines that delayed thousands of Toronto-area commuters during the evening rush hour Tuesday can be traced to a routine software upgrade, the company says.

CALGARY — Birchcliff Energy Ltd. has announced the retirement of chief executive officer Jeff Tonken.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (19,034.81, up 13.89 points): Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Finance. Down 21 cents, or 0.26 per cent, to $79.44 on 11.

CALGARY — French company TotalEnergies says it has finalized its sale of its 50 per cent stake in the Surmont oilsands project to U.S. oil company ConocoPhillipsin a deal worth up to $4.4 billion. Canadian oil producer Suncor Energy Inc.

TORONTO — The largest shareholder of Aimia Inc. says it has become disillusioned and frustrated by the company's board and management team, so it plans to make a bid to take Aimia private in a deal that would value the company at about $308 million.

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index eked out a small gain Wednesday as broad-based gains led by utility and technology stocks outweighed losses in energy and battery metals, while U.S. markets rose, led by technology.

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street closed higher as the bond market loosened its vise on the stock market. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% Wednesday, coming off a 1.4% tumble that sent it to its lowest level in four months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — “THIS IS A TEST": If you have a cellphone or were watching television Wednesday, you should have seen that message flash across your screen as the federal government tested its emergency alert system used to tell people about emerge

WestJet plans to halt flights between Toronto and Montreal for the winter in a continuation of its retreat from short-haul routes in Eastern Canada to retrench in the West.

VANCOUVER — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says a jump in new listings is helping to bring some balance back to the region's housing market. The board says September sales totalled 1,926, a 13.