AP National Business

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo has signed a $236.7 million agreement with a U.S. government agency to support its energy sector, promote women’s participation and boost development, according to Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani’s office. The deal with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, or MCC, was signed a day earlier at the American Congress in Washington. Osmani

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge has ordered Samsung to pay $9.8 million in penalties for misleading advertising over how water-resistant some models of smartphones are. Justice Brendan Murphy on Thursday gave South Korea-based Samsung’s Australian subsidiary 30 days to pay the fines. Samsung admitted to making false and

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics Co. has reported its operating profit rose 12% in the April-June quarter thanks to strong demand for server chips. The world’s top producer of smartphones and memory chips said in a statement Thursday that its operating profit for the last quarter rose to 14.1 trillion won ($10.8 billion)

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday following a broad rally on Wall Street, but Hong Kong’s benchmark sank more than 2%. Investors appear to have grown more convinced that the Federal Reserve may temper its aggressive interest rate hikes aimed at taming inflation after the

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s push to obtain UNESCO World Heritage recognition for a former gold mine key to the nation’s industrialization will be delayed. The Sado Island mine in northern Japan operated for nearly 400 years and was once the world’s largest gold producer before closing in 1989. But the

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — New forecasts by Australia’s government say runaway inflation will remain unacceptably high for the next two years and economic growth will slow without falling into recession. Treasurer Jim Chalmers outlined to Parliament on Thursday a deterioration in the country’s economic outlook since a new government was

By ED DAVEY Associated Press A new report by says many of the world’s biggest banks are falling far short of aligning their practices with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the Earth’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The evaluation of 27 giant banks, obtained by The Associated Press, was carried out

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and HELEN WIEFFERING Associated Press LENORAH, Texas (AP) — To the naked eye, the Mako Compressor Station outside the dusty West Texas crossroads of Lenorah appears unremarkable, similar to tens of thousands of oil and gas operations scattered throughout the oil-rich Permian Basin. What’s not visible through the chain-link fence is the

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and HELEN WIEFFERING Associated Press LENORAH, Texas (AP) — To the naked eye, the Mako Compressor Station outside the dusty West Texas crossroads of Lenorah appears unremarkable, similar to tens of thousands of oil and gas operations scattered throughout the oil-rich Permian Basin. What’s not visible through the chain-link fence is the

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When General Motors went through the biggest industrial bankruptcy proceedings in history, 20,000 retirees from GM’s Delphi Corp. subsidiary saw their retirement savings slashed. They fought unsuccessfully in court for 13 years to get that money back. Now, they’re focused on congressional legislation to restore what they

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Dave Muffley thought he had it made when it came to a solid retirement. The Indiana man spent roughly 30 years as a salaried maintenance technician for Delphi Corp., a subsidiary of General Motors Corp., and expected to retire with a comfortable income by the time he

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Jerome Powell delivered a tough message at the start of a news conference Wednesday: Inflation is way too high, and the Federal Reserve is laser-focused on taming it with higher borrowing costs. Yet despite his resolute words, the Fed chair also said for the first time

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The owner of an underwater oil pipeline that spilled some 25,000 gallons of crude into the ocean off Southern California will pay nearly $1 million in cleanup costs. The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to accept a proposed claim settlement with Amplify Energy Corp. over the costs

By ARNIE STAPLETON AP Pro Football Writer ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — NFL owners will decide on Aug. 9 whether to approve the proposed $4.65 billion sale of the Denver Broncos to the Waltons, heirs to the Walmart fortune and America’s richest family. The league’s finance committee met Wednesday and unanimously recommended the transaction for approval.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, posted its first revenue decline in history Thursday, dragged down by a drop in ad spending as the economy falters — and as competition from rival TikTok intensifies. The results largely followed a broader decline in the digital advertising market that

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.’s net income rose 19% in the second quarter as the company pulled together enough computer chips to boost factory output and sales. The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker said it made $667 million from April through June. Adjusted earnings per share were 68 cents, beating

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., up $2.02 to $9.14. The drugmaker agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement to settle lawsuits that claimed the company helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. Alphabet Inc., up $8.04 to $113.06. Google’s owner reported second-quarter results that weren’t as bad as

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — Federal officials say Southwest Airlines and its pilots union have resisted some investigations into accidents and other incidents, and have pushed to close the matters quickly. The findings were disclosed Wednesday by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which represents federal whistleblowers. The whistleblowers accuse the

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators have taken legal action to block Facebook parent Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg from acquiring virtual reality company Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural. They are asserting the deal would hurt competition in the virtual reality market and violate antitrust laws. Experts

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Now that the Mega Millions lottery jackpot has topped $1 billion — only the fourth time a lottery game has reached such heights — plenty of people who rarely play the game are considering risking $2 or joining an office pool in hopes of an

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First, her father was lured back to Rwanda under false pretenses and jailed. Then, months later, Carine Kanimba discovered her own phone had been hacked using private spyware. She’s the youngest daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, who’s credited with saving more than 1,200 lives during the 1994 Rwandan

Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A British man aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles grabbed a passenger seated in front of him by the throat and tried to hit and bite him, prompting the diversion of the flight to Utah, authorities said Wednesday. William Stephen Hayes, 39, was arrested after the

By ROBERT BUMSTED Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Ah, the bacon, egg and cheese. The classic bodega breakfast sandwich is a staple in many a New Yorker’s diet. It’s easy to make, easy to eat on the go and cheap — although not as cheap as it used to be. To keep up with

By DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge has thrown out multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuits against five media companies brought by a Kentucky student. Nicholas Sandmann was a 16-year-old high school student when was involved in a 2019 viral encounter at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The lawsuits sought tens of millions

By MARK PRATT Associated Press Employees at a Trader Joe’s in Massachusetts are casting votes over the next two days in an attempt to form the supermarket chain’s first union. A union organizer says about 80 workers at the Hadley store are scheduled to vote Wednesday and Thursday. The workers are organizing under the name

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Food and Drug Administration says a comprehensive review of the opioid painkillers that triggered the nation’s ongoing overdose epidemic is in the works. But FDA Commissioner Robert Califf faces skepticism about the long-promised review from lawmakers, experts and advocates after years of

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — The head of the U.S. government aid agency has called on China to help Sri Lanka and other nations that had borrowed heavily from Beijing with debt restructuring, not just with lines of credit and emergency loans. Samantha Power, the administrator for the U.S. Agency for

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Gun makers have taken in more than $1 billion from selling AR-15-style guns over the past decade, at times marketing them as a way for young men to prove their masculinity, even as the number of mass shootings increases, according to a House investigation unveiled Wednesday. The

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is caught in an awkward, painful place. A confusing one, too. Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers keep spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines are abandoning their merger proposal, which opens the way for JetBlue Airways to strike a deal for Spirit. Frontier and Spirit agreed Wednesday to drop their merger even while Spirit shareholders were still voting on it. It was apparent that despite the support of

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Railroads will be required to maintain two-person crews under a new rule announced Wednesday that will thwart the industry’s efforts to cut crews down to one person. Railroads will be required to keep using two-person crews in most circumstances as they haul all kinds of

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a hefty three-quarters of a point for a second straight time in its most aggressive drive in more than three decades to tame high inflation. The Fed’s move will raise its key rate, which affects

By SAM KEMMIS NerdWallet The availability of remote work has increased significantly in recent years, giving rise to the ability for telecommuters to buck travel norms. Remote work has blurred the line between business and personal travel, affording workers the flexibility to extend trips to fly on cheaper days. Long-term stays of 28 or more

By MICHAEL CANTU Edmunds In the early days of the modern electric vehicle, or EV, your choices were largely limited to a few range-compromised models or an expensive Tesla on the high end. But 2022 offers a much wider variety of excellent EVs to choose from, and many of them are versatile SUVs. The car

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Thursday after the Federal Reserve ratcheted up its campaign against surging inflation by raising its key interest rate three-quarters of a point. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index slipped 0.6% to 20,554.09 after the territory’s Monetary Authority matched the

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Russia’s Gazprom has halved the amount of gas flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of full capacity. It’s the latest Nord Stream 1 reduction that Russia has blamed on technical problems but Germany says is a political move to sow uncertainty and

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press Shipping companies are not rushing to export millions of tons of grain trapped in Ukraine, despite a breakthrough deal to provide safe corridors through the Black Sea. That is because explosive mines are drifting in the waters, ship owners are assessing the risks and many still have questions over how

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch farmers are protesting government plans to reduce nitrogen emissions. The farmers dumped manure and garbage on highways Wednesday and set fires alongside roads, creating traffic chaos on some roads in the central and eastern Netherlands. Fire services rushed to clear the debris as traffic

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — More than 1,000 Lufthansa flights were canceled Wednesday because of a one-day strike by the airline’s German ground staff, affecting tens of thousands of passengers in the latest travel turmoil to hit Europe. About 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans or cancel them altogether. At

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower Wednesday as traders prepared for a possible sharp interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to cool inflation. Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea declined. Tokyo and Sydney advanced. Oil prices were little changed, staying below $100 per barrel.

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press It was a stunning image: Pope Francis briefly wearing a full Indigenous headdress, its rows of soft white feathers fastened in place by a colorful, beaded headband after he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s “disastrous” residential school system for Indigenous children. Chief Wilton Littlechild, a residential school

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press Drugmaker Teva has announced an agreement to settle lawsuits over the allegations that it helped fuel the U.S. opioid epidemic. The deal calls for the Israel-based company to pay more than $4.3 billion to state and local governments and Native American tribes over 13 years. The total includes settlements the

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific will spend more than $1 billion to upgrade 600 of its old diesel locomotives over the next three years and make them more efficient. The move will accelerate the pace of upgrades UP already planned to make and help the railroad cut roughly

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Visa says its fiscal third quarter profits rose 32% from a year earlier, helped by yet another double-digit rise in the amount of money processed on its credit and debit card network. The payment processing company said Tuesday it earned a profit of $3.41 billion,

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s revenue growth during the past quarter decelerated to its slowest pace in two years as advertisers reined in their spending amid fears of an economic recession. The regression reported Tuesday by Google’s corporate parent, Alphabet, is the latest sign that the tailwinds propelling big

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft on Tuesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $16.7 billion, or $2.23 per share, falling short of analyst expectations for $2.29 per share — a rare disappointment from the tech giant that has consistently beat Wall Street expectations in recent years. It posted revenue of $51.9 billion in the April-June period,

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Tuesday: Shutterstock Inc., down $4.68 to $54.40. The stock images and video provider posted second-quarter sales and profit that missed Wall Street expectations. Walmart Inc., down $10.04 to $121.98. The retail giant cut its profit outlook, saying rising prices for food and gas are forcing shoppers

NEW YORK (AP) — Buzz Aldrin’s jacket worn on his historic first mission to the moon’s surface in 1969 has been auctioned off to a bidder for nearly $2.8 million. The $2,772,500 paid for the Apollo 11 Inflight Coverall Jacket is the highest for any American space-flown artifact sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s, which

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A giant Mega Millions lottery jackpot ballooned to $1.02 billion after no one matched all six numbers Tuesday night and won the top prize. The new estimated jackpot for Friday’s drawing will be the nation’s fourth-largest lottery prize. The jackpot has grown so large because no one has matched the

By RANDALL CHASE and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Business Writer DOVER, Del. (AP) — Twitter has set September 13 as the date for its shareholders to vote on the company’s pending buyout by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that it is recommending that shareholders vote for the $44

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy has contracted for two straight quarters, intensifying fears that the nation is on the cusp of a recession — if not already in one — barely two years after the pandemic recession officially ended. Six months of contraction is a long-held informal definition

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has advanced a $280 billion bill designed to boost the U.S. semiconductor industry and accelerate high-tech research. Backers of the measure say it will be critical to the economy in coming decades. The legislation is now on a glidepath to final passage in the Senate,

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Shopify is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 1,000 employees, as the e-commerce company reckons with an unexpected sales downturn after a pandemic-fueled explosion. There has been a wave of layoffs or cutbacks in the tech sector with Wall Street distancing itself from some

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Port of Savannah saw record-breaking cargo volumes this past fiscal year amid a surge in imports and West Coast backlogs that prompted shippers to reroute goods to the East Coast. The Georgia Ports Authority said Tuesday that its docks in Savannah handled nearly 5.8 million

Associated Press Amazon is raising its Prime fees in Europe, the company told customers on Tuesday, days ahead of its second quarter earnings report. The changes come as Amazon aims to bolster its profits as consumers who were once homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic pullback from online shopping. The company also faces increasing costs due

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has announced it is acquiring the stock in an Arctic oil field now held by French and Norwegian companies. The Russian government said Tuesday it had approved a proposal for the Russian oil firm Zarubezhneft to acquire the stakes of TotalEnergies of France and Equinor of Norway in the Kharyaga project

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writers A tech millionaire offered to buy it. A U.S. senator suggested that the government should force manufacturers to make it. But so far, Klondike isn’t budging from its plan to discontinue the Choco Taco. Klondike confirmed Tuesday that the summer treat is being pulled from ice

By RAQUEL REDONDO Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain is easing requirements for foreign laborers to obtain work permits in an effort to bring thousands of undocumented workers into the official labor force. The bill is also aimed at trying to regulate jobs in understaffed sectors such as the hospitality industry and farm work. Tuesday’s

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Volkswagen has begun production of its first electric vehicle assembled in the United States at a Tennessee plant. The German automaker said in a news release that it plans to ramp up production in Chattanooga of the ID.4 electric compact SUV to 7,000 cars per month in the fourth quarter of

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press President Joe Biden wants to convince a skeptical public that the U.S. is not, in fact, heading into a recession. He’s sending that message in the leadup to the release of a key report on the economy’s overall health. The Commerce Department on Thursday will release new gross domestic product

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy is caught in an awkward, painful place. A confusing one, too. Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds

By ELIZABETH AYOOLA NerdWallet Millennials are known for changing jobs often, but how does that affect their retirement savings? That depends on several factors. Higher earnings and flexible working arrangements could help you save extra money that you could then divert toward retirement savings. You can also improve your retirement savings by leveraging benefits such

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence slid again in July as concerns about higher prices for food and gas continue to weigh on Americans. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 95.7 in July from 98.4 in June, largely due to consumers’ anxiety over

LONDON (AP) — Unilever says it raised prices by more than 11% between April and June as inflation surged. The consumer goods giant said Tuesday that underlying sales growth of 8.1% in the first half of the year was driven by rising prices to offset the higher costs it paid to create everything from Ben

By KIM COOK Associated Press The thermostat has officially hit swelter. Whether you’re trying to play in the backyard or just chill outdoors, there’s a bunch of new ideas and gear designed to help everyone stay cool. First, architects say there are simple ways to make an outdoor space more heat-wave friendly. Make sure you

By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Business leaders and officials from eight developing nations meeting in Bangladesh say more cooperation is needed among them to overcome dwindling foreign currency reserves, a growing energy crisis and supply chain disruptions. Representatives from Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey and Bangladesh under the banner of

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Coca-Cola posted higher-than-expected sales in the second quarter due to price increases and higher demand at theme parks and other venues. The Atlanta-based company said revenue grew 12% in the April-June period to $11.3 billion. That was well ahead of Wall Street forecasts. Coke said higher prices aren’t yet

BERLIN (AP) — Lufthansa says it will have to cancel almost all flights at its main Frankfurt and Munich hubs Wednesday because of a strike by its German ground staff. The labor strife is the latest travel turmoil to hit Europe. The airline said Tuesday that the strike will force the cancellation of 678 flights

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ second-quarter net income fell 40% from a year ago as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and caused the company’s U.S. sales to fall more than 15%. The Detroit automaker said it made $1.67 billion from April through June, in part because

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — An attorney for the parents of one of the children who were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting told jurors that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones repeatedly “lied and attacked the parents of murdered children” when he told his Infowars audience that the 2012 attack

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Rockefeller Foundation, created with wealth generated from the oil industry more than a century ago, plans to make the fight against climate change central to all of its work, including its operations and investments. In a public letter released Tuesday, foundation president, Dr. Rajiv J.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union governments have agreed to reduce consumption of natural gas this winter to protect against further supply cuts by Russia as it pursues its invasion of Ukraine. EU energy ministers on Tuesday approved a draft law intended to lower demand for gas by 15% from August through March, although the measure