National Business

TORONTO — Canada's main stock index plunged for a fifth straight day before trading was prematurely halted while U.S. markets were in correction territory on the path to their worst weekly performance since the financial crisis.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Maple Leaf Foods Inc. increased its dividend as it anticipates profitable growth this year from its meat operations and revenues increasing by 30 per cent from its plant protein group.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (16,717.44, down 324.48 points.) Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Down six cents, or 5.08 per cent, to $1.12 on 8.

MONTREAL — National Bank of Canada took a charge relating to a tax-fraud investigation but nonetheless topped expectations, reporting a 10-per-cent profit jump in its latest quarter.

Toronto Dominion Bank Group marked the start of its financial year by being the only member of the Big Six to fall short of analyst expectations. The Toronto-based bank reported Thursday a first-quarter profit of $3 billion, up from $2.

TORONTO — Hudson's Bay Co. executive chairman Richard Baker has won shareholder approval to take the retailer private after months of trying to appease rival shareholders and making a trip to the Ontario Securities Commission.

MONTREAL — TC Transcontinental is launching a plastic recycling group to handle materials within its packaging operations and plastics recovered from other commercial, industrial and agricultural sources.

MONTREAL — The head of WSP Global Inc. says the engineering company expects lower productivity from its Chinese operations after asking employees in the region to work from home as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

TORONTO — A deeply indebted former theatre mogul transferred ownership of the family home to his wife to put the multimillion-dollar property out of reach of his creditors, an Ontario judge has ruled.

CALGARY — The shelving of the proposed $20.6-billion Frontier oilsands mine this week stems mostly from the length of time it took for it to win regulatory approval, says the CEO of oilsands producer Husky Energy Inc.