AP National Business

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has announced 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief package. The grants are aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships. There were 529 applicants for the grants. The government ultimately will choose

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets are mostly higher ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week that is expected to accelerate plans to wind down U.S. economic stimulus after November inflation hit a 39-year high. London, Shanghai and Tokyo advanced while Frankfurt opened lower. Oil prices rose by

The Associated Press The Federal Reserve delivers an economic and interest rate policy update Wednesday. The Commerce Department issues its November tally of newly started U.S. residential construction projects Thursday. Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and other chains, reports quarterly results Friday.

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s rooftop solar market is the largest in the nation but is poised for changes by state regulators who could lower financial benefits for homeowners who install solar panels. California Public Utilities Commission regulators are set to issue proposed reforms this week for a program called

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia and South Korea have signed a $720 million defense deal as South Korean President Moon Jae-in became the first foreign leader to visit Australia since the pandemic began. The deal will see South Korean defense company Hanwha provide Australia with artillery weapons, supply vehicles and radars. It’s the largest defense

BEIJING (AP) — The top U.S. diplomat in China says the countries had a very good year for collaboration on dealing with climate change, but Washington is still pushing Beijing to adopt more ambitious carbon reduction goals. David Meale, the American Embassy’s No. 2 official, said what China does on burning coal will be crucial

By DYLAN LOVAN and MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — The Mayfield Consumer Products factory was the third-biggest employer in this corner of western Kentucky, an important economic engine that churned out candles that lined the shelves of malls around the U.S. But why its Friday night-shift workers kept making candles as a

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease. A statement from his office said that Ramaphosa started feeling unwell Sunday and a test confirmed COVID-19. The statement said he has mild symptoms, is self-isolating in Cape Town

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s third-largest group in parliament has elected a European Parliament lawmaker as its new leader. Nikos Androulakis defeated former Prime Minister George Papandreou to lead socialist coalition Movement for Change. Partial results showed the 42-year-old Androulakis with 68.4% of the vote compared to 31.6% for the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson says that Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the omicron coronavirus variant and he has announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defenses against it. Johnson said in a televised statement Sunday that everyone age 18 and older will

PARIS (AP) — France’s interior minister says the country has opened 400 investigations into networks providing fake COVID-19 health passes. Virus-related hospitalizations are rising sharply across the country. The case of a woman with the virus who died in a Paris regional hospital after showing a false vaccine certificate has drawn attention in French media

LONDON (AP) — The British government has raised the country’s official coronavirus threat level and warned the rapid spread of the omicron variant has pushed the U.K. into risky territory. The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said Sunday the emergence of the highly transmissible new strain “adds additional and rapidly

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed that Europe won’t tolerate attempts at undermining the territorial integrity of its nations and said that diplomatic tools like the Normandy Format should be used to de-escalate tensions after Russia massed troops near Ukraine’s border. Scholz was speaking Sunday alongside

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Search efforts at an Amazon facility in Illinois where at least six people were killed in a tornado are expected to take several days. But authorities don’t expect to find more survivors and the local coroner says there are no pending reports of missing people related to

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Heavy snowfall has covered Serbian capital Belgrade and much of the Balkans. The bad weather has hampered traffic and canceled flights from capital’s main airport and disrupted public transportation. Many areas across the country reported power cuts and damages to buildings on Sunday. The icy conditions saw trucks skidding across the

PRAGUE (AP) — Several thousand people have marched through the Czech capital to protest a vaccination mandate for certain groups including people age 60 and over. The participants didn’t wear face coverings or follow social distancing rules despite a request by police to do so on Sunday. One person was detained. The protesters chanted “Freedom!”