SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. rose for the third consecutive month in December and data released Wednesday suggests that the frantic pace of building will continue this year. The December increase puts home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7 million units, the Commerce Department reported…
LONDON (AP) — Unilever, the maker of Vaseline skin care products and Dove soap, says it won’t increase a 50 billion-pound ($68.2 billion) offer for GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare unit that was rejected last week. London-based GSK said Saturday that the bid “fundamentally undervalued” the unit. The offer, which included 41.7 billion pounds in cash and…
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s government and central bank have taken unconventional steps in recent weeks to prop up a beleaguered economy crippled by skyrocketing consumer prices, instead of ending a much-criticized plan to cut interest rates. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s insistence on cutting rates — the opposite of what economists say to do to…
LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United Kingdom have risen at the fastest pace in almost 30 years as higher costs for energy, transportation, food and furniture squeezed household incomes. Inflation accelerated to 5.4% in the 12 months through December, up from November’s 5.1%, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Last month’s annual…