Business

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pressed global leaders in a written message Tuesday to take “bold, comprehensive and co-ordinated” steps against the recession.

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) will likely expand its refining network when it merges with Petro-Canada (TSX:PCA), rather than shut down gasoline-production operations as some have feared, an energy analyst said Tuesday.

A used auto dealership has received approval to operate at the site of a former service station, albeit for a shorter period.

NAL Oil & Gas Trust (TSX:NAE.UN) has struck a deal to take over Alberta Clipper Energy Inc. (TSX:ACN) in a transaction valued at $115 million including $78 million of assumed debt.

TORONTO — A U.S. government plan to buy up toxic banking assets and provide a boost to lending could rejuvenate both the American and Canadian economies, according to economists and banking industry observers.

OTTAWA — The economy received some needed encouragement Monday with a sharp jump in stock markets and a report showing Canadians are less despondent about their prospects.

If Red Deer is in the grips of an economic slowdown, it hasn’t prevented the owner of Red Deer’s Millennium Centre from filling more than 40,000 square feet of office space.

It’s an image that continues to haunt Andrew Carpenter.

Red Deer’s reputation as a convention hot spot should strengthen next year with the opening of a full-service Holiday Inn in Gasoline Alley.

Toyota forecast its first annual net loss since 1950 on Friday as plunging demand for cars, especially in the U.S., and the strong yen pummeled earnings at the world’s No. 1 automaker.