AP National Business

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has lifted a six-week national lockdown as COVID-19 cases and deaths decline but movement restrictions remain in place. The lockdown was imposed Aug 20 and then extended three times as Sri Lanka grappled with an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases and deaths since

By ALAN SUDERMAN, FRANK BAJAK and RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Outsiders have long profited from Africa’s riches of gold, diamonds, and even people. Digital resources have proven no different. Millions of internet addresses assigned to Africa have been waylaid, some fraudulently, including through insider machinations linked to a employee of the nonprofit

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — If you build it during a pandemic, will they still come? American Dream put that to the test when it opened the new luxury shopping wing of its megamall in September featuring Saks Fifth Avenue, Dolce & Gabbana, Hermes and other luxury stores, along

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JORGE RUEDA Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A new currency with six fewer zeros debuted Friday in Venezuela, whose currency has been made nearly worthless by years of the world’s worst inflation. But the new bills were difficult to find in the capital, where consumers’ fears that prices will

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Asian markets tumbled Friday on the tail of Wall Street’s worst monthly loss since the beginning of the pandemic. Tokyo skidded 2.3% and Australia’s benchmark sank 2.2%. Markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong were closed for holidays. The S&P 500 ended September down 4.8%, its first monthly drop since

Business sentiment among Japanese manufacturers has risen to its highest level in nearly three years, according to a quarterly survey by the central bank. The results of the Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey, released Friday, found sentiment among large manufacturers rose to 18 from 14. That’s the highest level since late 2018. The reading for

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term mortgage rates jumped this week as the benchmark 30-year loan edged over 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage increased to 3.01% from 2.88% last week. The rate for a 15-year loan advanced to 2.28% from 2.15% last week. A factor in

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest electronics maker, has a deal to buy a huge auto assembly plant in Ohio from startup electric truck maker Lordstown Motors, the companies announced Thursday. The agreement stands to give Taiwan-based Foxconn, best known for making Apple iPhones, an entry into the growing electric

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday. The back-to-back votes by the Senate and then the House averted one crisis, but delays on

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer Marc Lasry, the hedge-fund billionaire and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner who was named chairman of embattled media organization Ozy earlier this month, has resigned from its board. “I believe that going forward Ozy requires experience in areas like crisis management and investigations, where I do not have particular expertise,” Lasry

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate narrowly approved President Joe Biden’s pick to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday, giving the bureau a director who is likely to embrace an aggressive “watchdog” role, similar to how the agency operated under former President Barack Obama. Rohit Chopra’s nomination was

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday put final touches on consumer protections against so-called “surprise” medical bills. The ban on charges that hit insured patients at some of life’s most vulnerable moments is on track to take effect Jan. 1, officials said. Patients will no longer have to

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Biden administration has scheduled an offshore oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico on Nov. 17, obeying a court order. The Democratic president’s moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands was blocked by a judge in June. The government said it would resume sales

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar will perform for the first time on stage together at the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. The NFL, Pepsi and Roc Nation announced Thursday that the five music icons will perform on Feb.

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate narrowly approved President Biden’s pick to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday, giving the bureau a director who is likely to embrace an aggressive “watchdog” role, similar to how the agency operated under former President Obama. Rohit Chopra’s nomination was approved 50-48,

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Regulators want the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice to pay a penalty and follow through on a promise to fix environmental problems at eastern Kentucky coal mines. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet asked a circuit judge this week to enforce an agreement over reclamation violations. The Lexington Herald-Leader

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday put final touches on consumer protections against so-called “surprise” medical bills. The ban on charges that hit insured patients at some of life’s most vulnerable moments will take effect Jan. 1. Patients will no longer have to worry about getting a huge

By MARCY GORDON and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators fired a barrage of criticism Thursday at a Facebook executive over the social-networking giant’s handling of internal research on how its Instagram photo-sharing platform can harm teens. The lawmakers accused Facebook of concealing the negative findings about Instagram and demanded a commitment

The Associated Press Stocks slumped again on Wall Street Thursday, erasing another 3.3% from the S&P 500 and bringing the index 23.6% below the peak it reached in January. The renewed selling came a day after a brief reprieve for markets when the Federal Reserve delivered a huge interest rate increase in its effort to

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday: Perrigo, Virgin Galactic rise; CarMax, Devon Energy fall.