AP National Business

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press A regulatory agency responsible for the water supply of more than 13 million people in four Northeastern states says it is banning gas drillers from dumping fracking wastewater in its watershed. The Delaware River Basin Commission approved regulations Wednesday meant to restrict the gas industry’s ability to draw water from

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government has approved the U.K.’s first new coal mine in three decades. Environmentalists have condemned the decision as a leap backwards in the fight against climate change. Cabinet Minister Michael Gove decided the mine in the Cumbria area of northwest England would have “an overall

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks edged lower on Wall Street in afternoon trading Wednesday, keeping major indexes on track to extend their recent losing streak into a fifth day. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 2:29 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10 points, or less

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press President Joe Biden has signed legislation curbing the use of confidentiality agreements that block victims of sexual harassment from speaking publicly about misconduct in the workplace. The bipartisan Speak Out Act bars the use of nondisclosure agreements that employees or contractors are required to sign, often as a condition

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has proposed travel bans and asset freezes on almost 200 more Russian officials and military officers as part of a new round of sanctions aimed at ramping up pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The proposals were made Wednesday by the EU’s

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and MATTHEW PERRONE AP Business Writers Embattled vaping company Juul Labs has reached settlements covering thousands of lawsuits over its e-cigarettes, which in recent years became a scourge in schools and communities nationwide. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured an equity investment to

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Experts raised concerns over a new policy announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria that heavily limits withdrawals of money in a push for a cashless economy. The central bank limited weekly over-the-counter cash withdrawals to 100,000 naira, which amounts to $225, for individuals, and 500,000

PARIS (AP) — French animal rights activists have protested against what they say are broad exceptions to a new legislation that was meant to ban the practice of killing male chicks after they hatch.The ban is set to enter into force in January. Yet France-based animal rights group L214 said exceptions to the rule that

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS and JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled in favor of state efforts to control public access to a set of ancient ceremonial and burial earthworks built by American Indians. At issue before the court were the 2,000-year-old Octagon Earthworks in Newark in central

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The former head of Poland’s state broadcaster says he now has a job the World Bank. It’s spurred disbelief in the European Union country where he’s known for turning the news channel into a propaganda tool for the right-wing government. Kurski tweeted Wednesday that he’s been named an alternate executive director

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Italian confectioner Ferrero is acquiring Wells Enterprises, one of the largest U.S. ice cream makers. Wells, a 100-year-old family-owned company based in Le Mars, Iowa, makes Blue Bunny, Halo Top and other brands. It produces more than 200 million gallons of ice cream per year at plants in Iowa,

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is bringing back dividends for shareholders. The airline said Wednesday that it will restore the quarterly dividend of 18 cents per share in late January. Southwest suspended dividends after the pandemic devastated the airline business in early 2020. The move comes as air travel

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government says it could take “tough” action to curb strikes. Its warning came as airport passport officers became the latest public sector workers to announce December walkouts. The Public and Commercial Services union said its members at Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff airports will

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will increase exports of liquefied natural gas to Britain under a new agreement calling for the two countries to work together to boost energy security and drive down prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered between small gains and losses on Wall Street Wednesday, leaving prospects uncertain for the market to break a four-day losing streak. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 12:06 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16 points, or 0.1%, to

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has arrived in Saudi Arabia to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to his country’s energy supplies as Beijing tries to revive an economy battered by strict coronavirus measures. Saudi and Chinese flags flew Wednesday in Riyadh, the

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL AP Science Writer NEW DELHI (AP) — The leading hospital in India’s capital is limping back to normalcy after a cyberattack crippled its operations for nearly two weeks. Online registration of patients has resumed after the hospital was able to access its server and recover lost data. The hospital worked with federal

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For years, Mark Hager’s job as an observer aboard New England fishing boats made him a marked man, seen as a meddling cop on the ocean, counting and scrutinizing every cod, haddock and flounder to enforce rules and help set crucial quotas. On one particularly perilous

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Wall Street futures edged lower Wednesday ahead of new employment and wholesale price data with the Federal Reserve gauging its next step in its fight to cool inflation. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slipped 0.4% and the S&P 500 fell 0.7% just over an hour