AP National Business

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that the number of coronavirus deaths worldwide last week was the lowest reported in the pandemic since March 2020, marking what could be a turning point in the years-long global outbreak. At a press briefing in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says three Iranian citizens have been charged in the United States with ransomware attacks that targeted power companies, local governments and small businesses and nonprofits, including a Pennsylvania domestic violence shelter. The charges accuse the hacking suspects of targeting hundreds of victims in the

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer A high-profile labor organizer has resigned from Starbucks, saying the company forced her out because of her union leadership. Jaz Brisack helped lead the unionization of a store in downtown Buffalo, New York, late last year, kicking off a national movement. At least 238 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted

By COLLEEN LONG and TOM KRISHER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — President Joe Biden is showcasing his administration’s efforts to promote electric vehicles during a visit to the Detroit auto show. Biden is a self-proclaimed gearhead who owns a 1967 Corvette Stingray. He got behind the wheel of a snazzy new Corvette Wednesday at the

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday following the market’s worst day in two years on fears about higher interest rates and the recession they could create. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% as of 1:34 p.m. Eastern. The benchmark index is coming

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — When it came time to showcase its electric Chevrolet Equinox SUV to the public this year, General Motors decided against doing so at the big Detroit auto show, as it typically would have done in the past. Instead, it unveiled the Equinox six days earlier. GM’s

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is steadying itself after tumbling to its worst day in two years on fears about higher interest rates and the recession they could create. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early Wednesday trading after drifting between small gains and losses. So was the Dow, a day after losing

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will transfer $3.5 billion in frozen Afghan central bank funds to benefit the Afghan people as hunger grips every province there. In an announcement Wednesday, a year after the tumultuous U.S. withdrawal, the U.S. said the Taliban government will not have access to the

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico five years ago and highlighted the funding problems the Caribbean island has long faced. Philanthropists are warning that many of those issues have not been addressed, just like the repairs still needed for the American territory’s physical infrastructure. The Category

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Jim Beam plans to ramp up bourbon production at its largest Kentucky distillery to meet growing global demand in a more than $400 million expansion to be powered by renewable energy. The project will increase capacity by 50% at the Beam plant in Boston, Kentucky, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions

PARIS (AP) — A French court is expected to issue a verdict in the trial of the Yemeni airline that operated a passenger plane that crashed in 2009, killing 152 people. While landing in strong winds, the aging Airbus A310 operated by Yemenia crashed into the Indian Ocean about 15 kilometers (9 miles) off the

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers have adopted new legislation aimed at guaranteeing “decent” minimum wages for all workers across the 27-nation bloc. Wednesday’s vote came as inflation and skyrocketing energy bills have left many households struggling to make ends meet. Under the law, member countries will have to guarantee “that their national minimum wages

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level jumped 8.7% in August from a year earlier, a slowdown from July yet still a painfully high level that suggests prices will keep spiking for months to come. The government also said that on a month-to-month basis, the producer price index

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has unveiled plans to ban products made with forced labor from the 27-nation bloc’s markets. The European Commission proposed Wednesday’s move, saying it’s part of EU efforts to crack down on a modern-day form of slavery that affects more than 27 million people worldwide.

BERLIN (AP) — German energy supplier Uniper says it is exploring the possibility of the government acquiring a majority holding in the company as its losses mount. That would be a jump from the roughly 30% stake that the state already has pledged to take in a rescue package this summer. Russia’s cuts to natural

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press TikTok may be the platform of choice for catchy videos, but anyone using it to learn about COVID-19, climate change or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to encounter misleading information, according to a research report published Wednesday. Researchers at NewsGuard searched for content about prominent news topics on TikTok

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. futures rebounded slightly Wednesday after ominous inflation data led to the biggest single-day market rout in more than two years. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials inched up 0.1% while futures for the S&P rose 0.2%. Asian markets finished lower and European markets are in decline at midday. Tuesday’s report

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the United Kingdom slowed slightly in August as a drop in gasoline and diesel fuel prices gave consumers the first glimmer of hope that Britain’s cost-of-living crisis may be beginning to ease. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index rose