IPOs

Canada Goose plans to raise up to $100m in stock sale

Canada Goose Holdings Inc., a Toronto maker of luxury coats and outerwear that is majority owned by Bain Capital has filed for an initial public stock offering. It’s a relatively quick IPO for Boston-based Bain, which invested in the company in December 2013. According to the offering document, the company plans to raise up to $100 million in the stock sale. The company’s down coats, which sell for as much as $1,000, have become the go-to jacket for deep-pocketed high school and college students. After the offering, which includes two classes of shares, Bain will still own a controlling interest in the company, according to the filing. Bain and the company’s chief executive, Dani Reiss, will control the voting shares of the company. For the nine months ended Dec. 31, Canada Goose reported nearly $270 million in revenue and $34.5 million in net income. The company, which has been in business since 1957, said it would use the proceeds to finance its growth. It opened a flagship US store in New York in November. — BETH HEALY

ECONOMY

Prices rise at fastest pace in nearly four years

US consumer prices rose in January at the fastest pace in nearly four years, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. The Labor Department said Wednesday consumer prices rose 0.6 percent last month, the most since February 2013, and twice what economists were expecting. A 7.8 percent jump in gasoline prices accounted for nearly half the increase. Stripping out food and energy prices, which tend to fluctuate sharply from month to month, so-called core consumer inflation rose 0.3 percent in January. Fed policymakers monitor core measures of inflation especially closely. Food prices rose in January for the first time in seven months. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

SUPERMARKETS

German chain Lidl to open first stores in US

Lidl, the German no-frills supermarket chain, is opening its first wave of stores in the US this summer ahead of schedule, with plans to open up to 100 locations across the East Coast within a year. The details of the expansion, announced Wednesday, come as Walmart and traditional grocery chains already are seeing a stronger threat from German low-priced retailer Aldi, which has been aggressively expanding. Both offer low prices by focusing on store-label products rather than name brands. Aldi has also been adding items to include gluten-free products and fresh produce. Lidl’s first 20 US stores will be opening in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, where the company established its first US headquarters in 2015. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOME CONSTRUCTION

Builders feeling less sure about market

US homebuilders are feeling a bit less confident this month, reflecting a dimmer outlook for sales in the months ahead and fewer would-be buyers dropping by builders’ sales offices. The surprising decline comes ahead of the spring home-buying season, which is traditionally builders’ busiest time of the year and helps set the pace for home construction. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday fell to 65 this month. That’s down two points from a revised reading of 67 in January. Analysts had been expecting an increase. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

RETAIL

Under Armour CEO clarifies comments on Trump

The CEO of Baltimore-based sports apparel company Under Armour responded Wednesday to criticism he received after calling President Trump ‘‘an asset to the country.’’ In an open letter to Baltimore published as a full-page advertisement in The Baltimore Sun, Kevin Plank wrote that he wanted to clarify what values he and his company stand for. ‘‘In a business television interview last week, I answered a question with a choice of words that did not accurately reflect my intent,’’ he wrote referring to an interview on CNBC on Feb. 7. The company stands for equal rights and job creation and believes ‘‘immigration is a source of strength, diversity and innovation for global companies based in America,’’ Plank wrote. Also, the company opposes the president’s travel ban. Three celebrities the company sponsors — NBA star Stephen Curry, actor Dwayne ‘‘The Rock’’ Johnson, and ballerina Misty Copeland — were among those voicing concerns about his praise of Trump. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

RETAIL

January sales fall after holiday bump

Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, slowing down from a solid 1 percent gain in December, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Overall sales likely pulled back from a December bump in holiday shopping online and at auto dealers, while Americans spent more than normally expected last month at clothiers, department stores, electronics outlets, and sporting goods retailers. The gains were solid, but they show that improving consumer sentiment after President Trump’s presidential election, especially among Republicans, has done little to boost retail sales. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

HEALTH INSURANCE

Anthem wins court order blocking Cigna from scrapping merger

Anthem Inc. won a court ruling to temporarily block Cigna Corp. from scuttling a $48 ­billion merger between the health insurers. Delaware Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster said Wednesday that Cigna executives couldn’t pull out of the combination after a federal judge last week blocked the merger of the insurers as anticompetitive. The ruling is the ­latest twist in what promises to be a fierce legal battle over the deal’s failure. Cigna on ­Tuesday told Anthem it was terminating the merger agreement and filed a lawsuit seeking a $1.85 billion break-up fee and $13 billion in damages from Anthem. That prompted the counter suit from Anthem to keep the merger alive. With Cigna prevented from terminating the deal, Anthem is free to pursue an appeal in federal court in Washington that seeks to overturn a Feb. 8 order that the merger of the two insurers would threaten competition and should be stopped. Anthem wants a fast-track review by the appeals court so it can get a decision by an April 30 deal deadline. The Anthem-Cigna merger is one of two insurer tie-ups that were blocked following challenges by the Justice Department last year. The other — between Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. — was abandoned by the companies on Tuesday after they decided against an appeal. — BLOOMBERG NEWS

AIRLINES

Lufthansa pilots OK contract after more than a dozen strikes over five years

German airline Lufthansa has struck a deal to solve a bitter labor dispute with pilots that over five years has cost it an estimated half a billion dollars and more than a dozen strikes. The airline, Germany’s largest, and the Cockpit union said Wednesday they’d agreed upon an arbitrator’s proposal for a new wage agreement for some 5,400 pilots. The company said it agreed to a four-stage 8.7 percent total wage increase, and a one-off 30 million euro ($31.7 million) payment that would translate to some 5,000 euros to 6,000 euros per employee. The new agreement will be in place until the end of 2019. — ASSOCIATED PRESS

BANKING

UBS unit accused of harassment of whistle-blower

UBS Group AG’s French unit was charged over the possible harassment of one of the whistle-blowers behind a tax probe that forced the bank to post a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.16 billion) bond to cover any potential penalties. UBS France was charged earlier this month in relation to the alleged harassment of Nicolas Forissier, a former audit manager who helped trigger the probes nearly a decade ago, according to two people familiar with the matter. — BLOOMBERG NEWS