AP National Business

ISTANBUL (AP) — Annual inflation in Turkey soared to nearly 80% in July. The Turkish Statistical Institute said Wednesday that consumer prices rose by 79.6% from a year earlier, up about 1 percentage point from June data. Skyrocketing food, housing and energy prices have hit Turkish consumers hard. Independent experts say inflation is much higher

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — The first grain ship to depart Ukraine under a wartime deal entered the Bosporus Strait on the way to Lebanon after its cargo was checked and approved Wednesday, Turkish and Ukrainian authorities said. An inspection team spent about 90 minutes conducting checks aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni,

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and CLAIRE SAVAGE NEW YORK (AP) — To understand the impact of surging inflation on this year’s back-to-school spending, look no further than children’s rain boots with motifs like frogs and ladybugs made by Washington Shoe Co. Spending held steady for these evergreen items even after the Kent, Washington-based business was forced

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s defense ministry says the first grain ship carrying Ukrainian corn is preparing to cross through Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait and travel onto its final destination, Lebanon. The ministry said an inspection team finished its review aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni. The delegation included officials from Ukraine, Russia,

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has inspected a turbine at the center of a natural gas dispute and declared Wednesday that “there are no problems” blocking the part’s return to Russia besides missing information from Russia’s state-controlled gas company. The Kremlin insisted on Wednesday that more assurances are

CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Energy Writer The OPEC oil cartel and its allies are meeting to decide how much oil to produce in September. They’re meeting amid high oil prices and unstable energy supplies exacerbated by the war Russia is waging on Ukraine. The group also is considering Wednesday what effects staggering inflation and rising COVID-19

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday as traders watched for potential economic impact from the visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. London and Shanghai fell. Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong gained. Oil prices declined. China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo’s profit in the April-June quarter rose 28% from a year earlier on healthy demand for its games, although console sales were dented by a shortage of semiconductors. The Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises said it expects to sell 21

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Inspectors on Wednesday boarded the first cargo ship to leave Ukraine since Russia invaded its neighbor, after the vessel anchored off Istanbul. Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials were to check if the grain shipment is in accordance with an agreement signed last month by Moscow and

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new president says his government is preparing a national policy roadmap for the next 25 years that aims to cut public debt and turn the country into a competitive export economy as it seeks a way out of its worst economic disaster. President

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China blocked imports of citrus and fish from Taiwan in retaliation for a visit by a top American lawmaker, Nancy Pelosi, but has avoided disrupting one of the world’s most important technology and manufacturing relationships. The two sides, which split in 1949 after a civil war,

ISTANBUL (AP) — The first cargo ship to leave Ukraine since the Russian invasion was anchored at an inspection area in the Black Sea off the coast of Istanbul Wednesday morning, awaiting an inspection. Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. officials will check if the grain shipment is in accordance with a crucial agreement signed last

By JOHN LEICESTER and NICOLAS GARRIGA Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Fanning out like urban guerrillas through Paris’ darkened streets well after midnight, the anti-waste activists shinny up walls and drain pipes, reaching for switches to turn off the lights. Click. Click. Click. One by one, the outdoor lights that stores had left on are

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A rural South Korean town is getting roasted over its video ad on garlic that some farmers say stinks of obscenity and has even sexually objectified the agricultural product. The controversy surrounds a 30-second video that had been posted on a YouTube channel for Hongseong

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets rose Wednesday as traders watched for signs trade might be disrupted by U.S.-Chinese tensions over an American lawmaker’s visit to Taiwan. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul advanced after Beijing announced a ban on imports of some Taiwanese goods but no immediate major

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks reported record revenue in the April-June period, as strong U.S. demand made up for COVID shutdowns in China. The Seattle-based coffee giant said its revenue rose 9% to $8.2 billion, a quarterly record. That surpassed Wall Street’s forecast.  Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Rent-A-Center, one of the nation’s largest rent-to-own companies, will pay $15.5 million to settle California’s allegations that it misled and overcharged tens of thousands of customers, Attorney General Rob Bonta said Tuesday. An investigation of the company’s “kiosk” business inside traditional retail furniture stores found that

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press Washington (AP) — The number of people living in America without health insurance coverage hit an all-time low of 8 percent this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday.  The findings come days after Democrats hammered out a 725-page climate, health care and tax deal that