National Business

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia's decision to start indexing income assistance is a positive step, but it isn't enough to lift people out of poverty, says the head of a non-profit that supplies 140 food banks in the province. Income assistance rates rose by 3.

Apple has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices.

Toys "R" Us Canada says it is closing five Ontario stores and revamping several others as it works to "optimize" its business.

CALGARY — Calgary home sales declined in December from the previous year's levels but remained nearly 20 per cent higher than long-term trends. The Calgary Real Estate Board says 1,322 homes changed hands last month, which was 2.

BlackBerry Ltd. says it is changing the name of its Internet of Things business. The Waterloo, Ont.-based technology firm says the business previously called BlackBerry IoT will now be known as QNX.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment checks dropped last week to the lowest level since March, suggesting that suggest most U.S. workers continue to enjoy unusually high job security .

CALGARY — Pembina Pipeline Corp. says its subsidiary Pembina Gas Infrastructure Inc. (PGI) has completed its previously announced acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Whitecap Resources Inc.'s Kaybob complex natural gas processing facility.

TORONTO — Broad-based gains led Canada's main stock index higher in late-morning trading on Thursday, while U.S. stock markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 206.46 points at 24,934.40.

TORONTO — Thomson Reuters Corp. says it has acquired a U.S. tax and accounting software business for $600 million. The Michigan-based company is called cPaperless LLC but operates under the SafeSend name. It has 235 employees.

TORONTO — Altus Group Ltd. says it has closed a deal with tax services and software company Ryan LLC to sell its global property tax business for $700 million.