Business

MONTREAL — Nearly two-thirds of Canadians polled say they have made or plan to make a contribution to their RRSP by Friday’s deadline, but with fewer dollars than last year, says a new survey.
The Bank of Montreal found that 63 per cent of Canadians have contributed or will contribute by the deadline, up from 38 per cent last year.

PHILADELPHIA — Beer lovers across the U.S. have accused Anheuser-Busch of watering down its Budweiser, Michelob and other brands, in class-action suits seeking millions in damages.

NEW YORK — The International Herald Tribune, one of the most enduring brands in journalism history, is getting a new name: The International New York Times.
The rebranding of the 125-year-old paper announced Monday comes as The New York Times Co. looks to focus on its flagship brand and expand its presence overseas. The name change will become official later this year.

WICHITA, Kan. — Years of drought are reshaping the U.S. beef industry with feedlots and a major meatpacking plant closing because there are too few cattle left in the United States to support them.

spawned by the disaster.

OTTAWA—Canada’s inflation rate slipped to its lowest level in more than three years in January while retail sales in December posted their biggest drop since April, 2010 due to stingy shoppers and lower new car sales, Statistics Canada said.
The Canadian dollar fell to an eight-month low after the two reports, dropping by more than half-a-cent to 97.52 cents (U.S.) this morning.

MONTREAL—Canadians aren’t expecting to save all of their pennies and nearly three-quarters want retailers to keep accepting the coin even though it’s being phased out, says a new survey.
The Bank of Montreal poll found that 73 percent of those surveyed expect retailers to keep taking pennies—regardless of the circumstance or amount of their purchase.

TORONTO—Canaccord Genuity is slashing its estimate of BlackBerry BB10 smartphone shipments in February to just 300,000 units—a far cry from its earlier estimate of more than 1.75 million.

NEW YORK — The parent company of Reader’s Digest has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than four years, saying it needs to cut its debt so it can keep restructuring.
RDA Holding Co. says it will keep publishing the magazine during the bankruptcy, and aims to be out of Chapter 11 within six months.

NEW YORK — Airbus said Thursday it is dropping lithium-ion batteries from its new A350 airplane because of uncertainty surrounding the technology that has led to the grounding of Boeing’s 787.