National Business

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of ride-or-die Taylor Swift fans who missed out on her U.S. concert tour last year or didn't want to buy exorbitantly priced tickets to see her again found an out-of-the-way solution: Fly to Europe.

MONTREAL — Power Corp. of Canada says its net earnings for the first quarter were $709 million, up from $313 million a year earlier. The Montreal-based management and holding company says net earnings per share were $1.

TORONTO — Manulife Financial Corp. says first quarter earnings were down from last year because of the effects of a major reinsurance deal.

SASKATOON — Nutrien Ltd. says it earned US$165 million in its first quarter, down 71 per cent from US$576 million a year earlier. The Saskatoon-based company says its sales totalled US$5.4 billion, down 12 per cent from US$6.

CHANNEL-PORT AUX BASQUES, N.L.

MONTREAL — WSP Global Inc. says it earned $126.8 million in the first quarter, up from $112.5 million a year earlier. The Montreal-based engineering company says revenues for the quarter were $3.6 billion, up from $3.

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange: Toronto Stock Exchange (22,259.16, down 31.46 points): Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Up 22 cents, or 0.78 per cent, to $28.50 on 16.9 million shares.

GUELPH, Ont. — Linamar Corp. says earnings were up in its first quarter from last year as revenue rose on market share growth and acquisitions. The auto parts manufacturer says it had net income of $178.

TORONTO — Shares of tech heavyweight Shopify fell almost 19 per cent Wednesday, weighing on Canada's main stock index, while U.S. markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 31.46 points at 22,259.16.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock drifted to a mixed close as Wall Street remains in a lull. The S&P 500 closed little changed Wednesday, after a big three-day winning streak gave way to a tiny gain the prior day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.