AP National Business

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homebuilder stocks have outpaced the broader market this year, and analysts are bullish on the prospects for more gains in 2022, despite expectations of continued supply chain woes. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders exchange-traded fund is up 45% this year, more than double the S&P 500.

By PAN PYLAS and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom’s central bank has become the first in a major advanced economy to raise interest rates since the coronavirus pandemic began. Banks controlling monetary policy around the globe are shifting their focus from stimulating the economy to combating soaring consumer prices that

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats’ vast social and environment package is stuck in the Senate. And party leaders’ hopes of resolving holdout Sen. Joe Manchin’s demands and considering the bill in this year’s waning days seem all but dead. For weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he wants to

By HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press Americans across the country are pitching in to help after last week’s tornadoes ravaged the South and Midwest, killing at least 90 people and displacing hundreds. Some are removing broken tree limbs from the ground. Others are preparing hot meals and shelters for those who have nowhere to turn. And

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Survivors of a tornado that leveled a Kentucky candle factory have filed a lawsuit against their employer. They claim Mayfield Consumer Products demonstrated “flagrant indifference” by refusing to allow employees to go home early. The suit was filed in state court. It seeks compensatory and punitive

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany is scrambling to procure more vaccines to fuel what the new health minister calls a “very offensive” and fast booster strategy that would leave the country better prepared for the onslaught of the new omicron variant. Germany on Wednesday administered nearly 1.5 million shots, its highest

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Heavy snow, blizzard conditions and stuck vehicles have prompted authorities to impose a shutdown of a portion of the West Coast’s major interstate that links California with Oregon. California officials Wednesday afternoon closed Interstate 5 north of the city of Redding as the latest of back-to-back storms slammed the region. The

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks wobbled in afternoon trading on Wall Street Thursday as investors study moves by central banks to fight rising inflation. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% and is sitting just below the record high it reached last Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1.9% while the Dow

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Survivors of a tornado that leveled a Kentucky candle factory have filed a lawsuit against their employer. They claim Mayfield Consumer Products demonstrated “flagrant indifference” by refusing to allow employees to go home early. The suit was filed in state court. It seeks unspecified compensatory and

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The government of Cyprus expects tourism to start fully rebounding in 2022 after arrivals this year increased a healthy 175% over a dismal 2020. The deputy Minister of tourism said the Mediterranean island nation recorded around 1.7 million traveler arrivals between January and October, 54% fewer than in a record-setting 2019.

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The average interest rate on a long-term mortgage in the U.S. ticked up slightly this week but remain historically low just as the Federal Reserve announces that it will begin tightening credit. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the

By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH Associated Press Boxed convenience foods aren’t just dinner. For many people born in the latter half of the 20th century, they’re also a source of nostalgia. AP writer Tracee Herbaugh recently bought some Betty Crocker’s Suddenly Salad after her grandmother died. Herbaugh was raised on boxed foods in her grandma’s house.

The Associated Press Stocks are edging mostly higher on Wall Street in early trading as investors study more moves by central banks a day after the Federal Reserve of the U.S. announced an acceleration of its pullback of economic stimulus as it pivots to fighting inflation. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, enough to get it

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — US industrial production increased 0.5% in November as output at the nation’s factories reached the highest level since January 2019. The November gain followed an even larger 1.7% increase in October which had represented a rebound following a 1% drop in production in September, the Federal

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week despite signs that the U.S. labor market is rebounding from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims were up by 18,000 to a 206,000, still low by historical standards. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The line of cars started forming at dawn. It was early November in Greenville, North Carolina, and drivers waited in a line that stretched for miles to pick up Thanksgiving turkeys — 10,000 free frozen birds to anyone who asked. Who was behind this act