BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top official on Wednesday called on the 27-nation bloc to ban oil imports from Russia and target the country’s biggest bank and major broadcasters in a sixth package of sanctions over the war in Ukraine. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France,…
BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve chairman downplayed the likelihood of bigger rate hikes following the U.S. central bank’s biggest increase in two decades. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia and Southeast Asian markets advanced. Markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for holidays. Wall Street’s…
NEW DELHI (AP) — A much-awaited initial public offering for India’s state-run Life Insurance Corp. began this week with retail investors allowed to subscribe for its shares starting Wednesday. The IPO, expected to raise up to $2.74 billion, is India’s largest ever. Its partial listing is part of plans by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to…
Airbnb sharply narrowed its first-quarter loss to $19 million, as the rebound in travel after two years of pandemic caused bookings to jump and revenue to rise 70% from a year ago. The short-stay home-rentals company predicted Tuesday that revenue in the second quarter will top Wall Street expectations. It said bookings are strong for…
SEATTLE (AP) — Months into a complex trial over their role in flooding Washington with highly addictive painkillers, the nation’s three largest opioid distributors agreed Tuesday to pay the state $518 million, with the vast majority being directed toward easing the addiction epidemic. Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the deal, noting that it’s worth tens…
Starbucks’ sales climbed to record levels in its fiscal second quarter, but its profits took a hit from climbing labor costs. And those costs are set to grow even higher in the coming months as Starbucks introduces new pay raises and other benefits to improve its employee experience __ and head off a growing unionization…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. officials announced what they called extraordinary steps on Tuesday to keep hundreds of billions of gallons of water stored in a reservoir on the Utah-Arizona line to prevent it from shrinking more amid prolonged drought and climate change. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to hold back about 480,000…
LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says the rates of people who are obese and overweight in Europe have hit “epidemic proportions,” with nearly 60% of adults and a third of children in one of those categories. In a report issued Tuesday, the U.N. health agency’s European office said the prevalence of obesity among…
A Senate hearing on Wednesday is likely to produce fireworks as Republicans and Democrats square off over the role that foundations and nonprofits are playing in elections. The Senate Finance subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight offers no description of the hearing beyond the title “Laws and Enforcement Governing the Political Activities of Tax Exempt…
Russia appeared to dodge default on its foreign debt by dipping into its scarce dollar reserves. But Moscow’s debt drama is far from over. Russia’s finance ministry abandoned its proposal to use rubles instead of dollars to make overdue payments on two government bonds, saying Friday that it had transferred the money to an account…
