SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A long-delayed plan to build a giant reservoir in Northern California to help withstand the U.S. West’s notorious droughts got a huge financial boost on Thursday when the federal government signaled its intent to loan the project nearly $2.2 billion — about half of the cost to design, plan and build…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates rose this week as the key 30-year loan vaulted over 4% for the first time since May 2019. The increase came amid expectations that with inflation at a four-decade high, the Federal Reserve would raise its benchmark short-term interest rate at its policy meeting this week to…
Amazon announced Thursday it has closed its acquisition of Hollywood studio MGM, two days after European regulators said the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” in European markets. The retail giant had announced the $8.5 billion deal in May, making it the company’s second-largest acquisition following its $13.7 billion deal with Whole Foods in 2017….
LONDON (AP) — Tech bosses face criminal prosecution if they fail to comply with proposed British rules aimed at ensuring people are safe online, the U.K. government said Thursday as it unveiled the draft legislation in Parliament. The ambitious but controversial online safety bill would give regulators wide-ranging powers to crack down on digital and…
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s central bank kept interest rates unchanged for a third straight month Thursday as consumer prices surge at an eye-popping pace, coming after a series of rate cuts last year triggered a currency crisis that has made it difficult for people to buy basic goods. The latest official statistics showed inflation above…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs continue to fall amid a strong job market rebound. Jobless claims fell by 15,000 to 214,000 for the week ending March 12, down from the previous week’s 229,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace…
BEIJING (AP) — Companies in Shenzhen, a major Chinese business center, will be allowed to reopen while efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks progress, the government said Thursday, following a citywide shutdown that rattled financial markets. Testing of everyone in the city of 17.5 million people is “progressing smoothly,” said a deputy mayor, Huang Qiang, at…
LONDON (AP) — A ferry operator owned by the government of Dubai sparked a furious response from workers and criticism from British authorities Thursday after firing 800 U.K.-based crew members without notice amid plans to replace them with cheaper staff. P&O Ferries, one of the largest ferry operators in the United Kingdom, said the workers…
LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England raised its key interest rate Thursday for the third time since December as it pushes ahead faster than other central banks in combating a global wave of inflation that is set to accelerate following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The bank boosted its key rate to 0.75% after the…
Russia’s war in Ukraine will disrupt commerce and clog up supply chains, slashing economic growth and pushing prices sharply higher around the globe, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned Thursday. In a grim new assessment, the 38-country OECD said that over the next year, the conflict would reduce gross domestic product — the…
