National Business

CALGARY — Ensign Energy Services Inc. is cutting its capital budget and says its top executives will take a pay cut as it moves to deal with the crash in the oilpatch due to COVID-19 and the oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

WINNIPEG — NFI Group Inc. says about 6,500 employees will be affected by idling a majority of its facilities for a two-week period starting March 30, if not sooner, as it works to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BURLINGTON, Ont. — A pair of royalty income funds are suspending distributions as restaurants across the country close to slow the spread of COVID-19.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada reports wholesale sales rose 1.8 per cent to $65.2 billion in January, boosted by the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories and the miscellaneous subsectors. Economists had expected a decline of 0.

BURLINGTON, Ont. — SIR Royalty Income Fund, which has a portfolio of 60 restaurants in Canada, is suspending its distributions as it stops dine-in restaurant operations at all of its locations.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is scouring the globe for medical supplies and scouting temporary hospital locations as the coronavirus crisis grows.

Metro and Loblaw are raising wages for grocery store and distribution centre workers by $2 per hour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Metro and the union that represents Loblaw workers say the wage boost is retroactive to March 8.

A group representing Canadian business leaders is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take more decisive action to stop the spread of COVID-19.

John Yuen spent Friday clearing out the fridge at his Italian restaurant and wondering how he'd manage to scrounge up about $12,000 for his April rent payment after shutting his doors indefinitely earlier this week.

OTTAWA — The federal government says it will exempt temporary foreign workers from some COVID-19 travel restrictions because of their importance to the Canadian economy.