Business

The Ottawa-based think tank reported Wednesday that its consumer confidence index increased 6.7 points to 82.2 after a weak showing in August.

Forbes & Manhattan Coal Corp. is buying majority stakes in an operating coal mine and an undeveloped anthracite deposit in South Africa from Rio Tinto PLC. Toronto-based Forbes & Manhattan will pay about $52.

A telecom consulting group says Canada's new wireless companies still have a small market share partly because most Canadians like all of their services from one provider.

French fears of competition from a flood of U.S. wine bearing the word "chateau" on the label eased on Tuesday, after EU officials delayed a decision on a plan that has left Bordeaux winemakers seeing red.

Europe is in the midst of another crisis: not debt, but grapes. Yields are sharply lower, down nearly 40 per cent in some parts of Portugal, which means winemakers will have fewer grapes to blend and, in the end, fewer bottles to offer.

The Toronto stock market moved lower on Tuesday as investors backed away from the optimism that characterized trading earlier in the session. The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 56.36 points to 12,257.18. The TSX Venture Exchange fell 20.

A Chinese factory owned by the manufacturer of Apple's iPhones has resumed production after a brawl involving some 2,000 workers highlighted chronic labour tensions in a country that prohibits independent unions.

The Alberta plant involved in a sweeping recall of beef products because of E. coli contamination concerns is not allowed to ship meat to the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says XL Foods Inc.

The general manager of a Chinese pipeline company says his industry is up against numerous challenges.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has again called on Canada's corporate community to use their massive cash reserves to invest in the future, only to have his message rebuffed Tuesday by the president of Canada's largest business lobby.