Local Business

BEIJING — Amid a worsening tariff battle, China is putting off accepting license applications from American companies in financial services and other industries until Washington makes progress toward a settlement, an official of a business group said Tuesday.

TORONTO — Hudson’s Bay Co. has struck a deal to merge its German department stores with its biggest rival in the European market.

BENGHAZI, Libya — Security forces loyal to Libya’s U.N.-backed government on Monday stormed the headquarters of the country’s national oil company in the capital Tripoli shortly after gunmen invaded the building, shooting randomly, setting off explosions and taking hostages, officials said.

FRANKFURT — Trial proceedings have begun in the lawsuit brought against Volkswagen by investors alleging the company did not give them timely notice of its scandal over cars rigged to cheat on diesel emissions tests.

TORONTO — David Heffel says he likes art as part of an investment portfolio because it provides daily dividends.

WASHINGTON — A computer programmer accused of working at the behest of the North Korean government was charged Thursday in connection with several high-profile cyberattacks, including the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and the WannaCry ransomware virus that affected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide.

LONDON — Crossrail, the new east-west London railway designed to bring relief to jam-packed commuters, announced Friday that it is postponing its scheduled December opening by the better part of a year.

Tim Hortons and a group of its franchisees are embroiled in another legal battle — this time over allegations that the company’s coffee and tea pots are prone to shattering, resulting in scalded and injured employees.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Trade Representative says Canada has made no concessions to the United States on the thorny issue of dairy access as talks grind on towards today’s deadline to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

VANCOUVER — The Federal Court of Appeal has quashed Ottawa’s approval of the contentious Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.