National Business

WINNIPEG — Shares of Ag Growth International Inc. closed up more than 11 per cent Wednesday after the company said it had rejected an unsolicited takeover offer. AGI shares closed up $5.13, or 11.15 per cent, to $51.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (21,897.98, down 367.07 points): Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down $1.07, or 1.93 per cent, to $54.47 on 16.0 million shares.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks closed lower under the weight of higher yields in the bond market. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Wednesday, sinking further from its record set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.

TORONTO — Quebec-focused National Bank of Canada bucked the general trend of downward profits among banks this quarter as it benefited from higher stability in its home market.

NEW ROSS, N.S. — RCMP confirmed today that an infant girl died Monday after an all-terrain vehicle crash in western Nova Scotia.

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the country’s total residential mortgage debt totalled $2.16 trillion as of February this year, up 3.4 per cent year-over-year and representing the slowest growth in 23 years.

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Wednesday for the fifth time since December, spewing red streams of lava in the latest display of nature’s power and triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal s

MONTREAL — Gildan Activewear Inc. says just shy of 84 per cent of shareholder votes cast in its Tuesday election were in favour of the company's newly returned CEO retaking his place on the company's board.

ConocoPhillips is buying Marathon Oil in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $17.1 billion as energy prices rise and big oil companies reap massive profits. The deal is valued at $22.5 billion when including $5.4 billion in debt.

A group of Canadian and American experts is urging emergency room doctors to prescribe specific medications to help curb cravings and alleviate withdrawal from heavy use of alcohol, which leads to more hospitalizations than any other substance.