Bloomberg US President Donald Trump intensified a trade dispute with Canada, slapping tariffs of up to 24 percent on imported softwood lumber in a move that drew swift criticism from the Canadian government, which vowed to sue if needed. Trump announced the new tariff at a White House gathering of conservative journalists, shortly before the Commerce Department said it …

  Bloomberg Britain kept to its borrowing forecasts in a pre-election boost for Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond but cracks in the public finances are appearing as consumers feel the pain from inflation. The deficit narrowed to 52 billion pounds ($66.6 billion) in the fiscal year through March, in line with the 51.7 billion pounds forecast by budget officials …

  Bloomberg Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said it will scout for medicines that are in earlier stages of development as acquisition price tags climb across the industry. “The price of some of these assets has increased to the point that we don’t feel like we can create value for Novartis shareholders,’’ Chief Executive Officer Joe Jimenez said on a conference …