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WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit rose 17.7% last year to $679 billion, highest since 2008, as the coronavirus disrupted global commerce and confounded then-President Donald Trump's attempts to rebalance America's trade with the rest of the world.

OTTAWA — Canadian insolvency filings hit a 20-year low last year as government financial support offset the shock and economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

It might not have seemed likely early in the pandemic, but the 55th Super Bowl Sunday is upon us yet again. Each year advertisers pull out all the stops to entertain the crowd of 100 million viewers expected to tune in to the CBS broadcast on Sunday.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the country's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.7 billion in December, the smallest deficit since June, as energy exports rose.

CALGARY — The CEO of Interfor Corp. says profits from strong lumber markets mean the company is well-positioned to add to its stable of sawmills in Canada and the United States through acquisition. Ian Fillinger says the Burnaby, B.C.

Commercials during this year’s Super Bowl are expected to take on a nostalgic tone as advertisers walk a fine line between entertaining viewers and being sensitive to the widespread devastation of COVID-19, marketing experts say.

CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. says the CEO who supervised its transition away from a provincially focused provider of coal-fired power to an international utility with natural gas and renewable power generation plans to retire at the end of March.

FREDERICTON — The head of a group representing New Brunswick farmers wants temporary foreign workers included high on the COVID-19 vaccination list as a way to protect the province's food supply.

OTTAWA — The national unemployment rate was 9.4 per cent in January. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities.

OTTAWA — Canada's national unemployment rate was 9.4 per cent in January. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets): _ Newfoundland and Labrador 12.8 per cent (12.6) _ Prince Edward Island 7.