National Business

LONDON — Veteran British tour operator Thomas Cook collapsed after failing to secure rescue funding, and travel bookings for its more than 600,000 global vacationers were cancelled early Monday.

MILAN — Fashion, according to Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, now is above all "a great platform. It has great power." Michele has used that platform during his 4 1/2 years at Gucci's helm to give gender fluidity a voice.

CALGARY — The brochure's cover has the Texas flag as a backdrop and shows an arrow pointing from Alberta to the Lone Star State. "Arrowstar Realty invites you to relocate to Texas," reads the mailer sent to businesses across Western Canada recently.

TORONTO — Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week: Economic data Statistics Canada will release wholesale trade figures for July on Monday.

TORONTO — Violent unrest in Hong Kong is the latest geopolitical threat prompting Canadian companies to review their safety measures for overseas employees, security experts say.

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says his government is eliminating more of exemptions to a free-trade agreement between provinces. Kenney announced during a speech to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Saint John, N.B.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass.

NEW YORK — Walmart is getting out of the vaping business. The nation's largest retailer said Friday that it will stop selling electronic cigarettes at its namesake stores and Sam's Clubs in the U.S. when it sells out its current inventory.

Thousands of workers in Ontario's auto industry have been temporarily laid off as General Motors' Canadian operations feel the effects of the continuing strike in the U.S. by the United Auto Workers.

FLINT, Mich. — The birthplace of General Motors has been on an economic roller-coaster ride for more than a century as the automaker rose, crashed and retooled for changing markets.