AP National Business

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that will heighten the risk of an eventual

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEOs of the nation’s biggest banks appeared in front of Congress Wednesday and gave a dim view of the U.S. economy, reflecting the financial and economic distress many Americans are facing. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and other chief executives said the U.S.

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say the devastating floods in Pakistan’s worst-hit province have killed 17 more people in the past 48 hours, including nine children. The U.N. children’s agency meanwhile renewed its appeal for $39 million to help the most vulnerable flood victims. UNICEF said in a statement on Wednesday

By DAVID KOENIG and MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writers A 99-day run of falling gasoline prices — a streak that gave consumers a glimmer of hope that red-hot inflation might be cooling — has ended, with pump prices still much higher than a year ago. The nationwide average price for a gallon ticked up less

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A judge has given tentative approval to a $54 million settlement involving 3M Co., a shoe manufacturer and property owners in western Michigan. They say their land and wells were contaminated by toxic “forever chemicals.” The deal involves approximately 1,700 properties north of Grand Rapids. The compounds are in a

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — NATO has sent a senior-level delegation to Albania on Wednesday to help the tiny Western Balkan country cope with the consequences of recent cyberattack that the government blamed on Iran. NATO said the alliance’s deputy assistant secretary general led a team of experts to offer the

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company for fraud on Wednesday, alleging they padded his net worth by billions of dollars by manipulating the value of prized assets including golf courses, hotels and his homes at Trump

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says the Lebanese government’s slowness to implement desperately-needed reforms was exacerbating the country’s economic meltdown. The IMF statement Wednesday followed a meeting in Beirut between the fund’s representatives and Lebanese officials to discuss an urgent and long-delayed bailout. The Lebanese government has implemented

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is taking a cautious approach to the holiday shopping season, announcing it will hire 40,000 U.S. workers for the holidays, a majority of them seasonal workers. Walmart said Wednesday it is now focusing on hiring seasonal workers only, rather than permanent workers. Just like

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state of Maine and a fishing group are appealing a federal judge’s decision that new rules intended to protect endangered whales must stand. The judge earlier this month denied a request from fishermen to stop federal regulators from placing the new restrictions on lobster fishing.

By The Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians saw their access to Instagram, one of the few Western social media platforms still available in the country, disrupted on Wednesday following days of mass protests over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police. NetBlocks, a London-based group that

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press CAYEY, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm Wednesday after devastating Puerto Rico, then lashing the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It was forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week. The storm has been blamed for directly causing at least four

By KARL RITTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists Wednesday, taking a risky and deeply unpopular step that follows humiliating setbacks for his troops nearly seven months after invading Ukraine. The first such call-up in Russia since World War II is sure to further fuel

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — In what has become an annual ritual, the CEOs of the major U.S. banks are appearing in front of Congress this week, to sell themselves as shepherds of a helpful industry at a time of financial and economic distress for many Americans. Democrats have called JPMorgan

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in August for the seventh month in a row, as sharply higher mortgage rates and rising home prices made homebuying less affordable. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that existing home sales fell 0.4% last month from July to a seasonally

Associated Press After 99 consecutive days of declining gasoline prices, the cost for a gallon edged a penny higher Wednesday. The national average price rose to about $3.68 per gallon, according to the AAA, but prices have been in steady decline. Wednesday’s average is lower than the week-ago average of $3.70 per gallon and well

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks rose in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday ahead of a widely expected interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 12:50 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 147 points, or 0.5%, to 30,851 and the Nasdaq rose 0.6%.

OREGON, Ohio (AP) — Officials say a fire at an oil refinery in Ohio killed two people and the facility has been shut down. The fire started Tuesday night at BP’s Husky Toledo Refinery. There is no word on how it started or the extent of the damage. A BP spokesperson said Wednesday the two

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — European Parliament members investigating the use of surveillance spyware by European Union governments have sharply criticized Israel. They accuse Israel of a lack of transparency in allowing the sale of powerful Israeli spyware to European governments that have used it against critics. The European lawmakers also

By YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Stocks are off to a modestly higher start on Wall Street ahead of a widely expected interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 was up half a percent in the early going Wednesday, as was the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Nasdaq composite