AP National Business

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia. The decision, which was criticized by Moscow, is a significant move for the German government. Scholz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that the decision

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Home Depot saw its sales remain strong in its fourth quarter as it continues to benefit from a sizzling housing market. Sales for the three months ended Jan. 30 rose to $35.72 billion from $32.26 billion. This beat the $34.88 billion that analysts polled by FactSet forecast. Sales at

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices have surged nearly 5% and stock prices dropped after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, bringing a long-feared invasion a step closer. U.S. futures also skidded after Wall Street was closed Monday for Presidents Day. Western powers have

By ARITZ PARRA and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Surging energy prices and the Russia-Ukraine conflict are making European leaders think hard about energy security — particularly their decades-old reliance on Moscow for natural gas. The crisis shows Europe’s vulnerability after years of limited progress in allowing affordable gas and electricity to flow

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices have surged nearly 5% and stock prices dropped after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, bringing a long-feared invasion a step closer. U.S. futures also skidded after Wall Street was closed Monday for Presidents Day. Western powers have

BERLIN (AP) — A closely watched survey shows that business confidence in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, has picked up for the second month in a row — even though the Russia-Ukraine crisis casts a shadow over expectations. The Ifo institute said Tuesday that its monthly confidence index increased to 98.9 points in February from 96

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has moved quickly to secure its hold on Ukraine’s rebel regions following the recognition of their independence with bills allowing the deployment of troops there in a challenge to the West. The agreements are set to be quickly rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled parliament

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has moved quickly to secure its hold on Ukraine’s rebel regions following the recognition of their independence with bills allowing the deployment of troops there in a challenge to the West. The agreements are set to be quickly rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled parliament

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s main airport has retained its top place as the world’s busiest for international travel, with around 29 million passengers shuttling through the global gateway last year. The 2021 passenger figures are encouraging for the tourism-driven economy of Dubai and a sign that intentional

HONG KONG (AP) — HSBC PLC says 2021 profit more than tripled to $12.6 billion as the bank sold its retail business in France and expanded wealth management in Asia. The bank reported on Tuesday that profit rose despite a 2% decline in revenue to $49.6 billion amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s pressure on commercial customers.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Asia have fallen sharply after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, a step suggesting a long-feared invasion was possibly underway. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.8% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 3.2%. Oil prices jumped,

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, HOPE YEN and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vacant high-ranking positions across the executive branch could be taking a toll on the Biden administration. At risk are President Joe Biden’s plans to improve the economy, fight the pandemic and implement the $1 trillion infrastructure law. Several acting leaders

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares in Asia have fallen sharply after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, suggesting a long-feared invasion was possibly underway. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 2.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 3.2% in early trading Tuesday. Oil

By DAISY NGUYEN Associated Press WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) — About a thousand beehives worth hundreds of thousands of dollars have been reported stolen across California in the past few weeks. It’s a crime that occurs uniquely in the state this time of year when almond trees start to bloom. That’s when beekeepers from around the

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — A huge Louisiana oil refinery has been rocked by an explosion and fire; company officials say six people suffered minor injuries. Officials later gave the all-clear sign, but it was not immediately clear what caused Monday morning’s blast at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. plant in Garyville, between New Orleans and Baton

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — A huge Louisiana oil refinery has been rocked by an explosion and fire that injured five workers. Officials later gave the all-clear sign, but it was not immediately clear what caused Monday morning’s blast at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. plant in Garyville, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Marathon says five

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is imposing sanctions on several top officials in Myanmar and on a lucrative state-owned oil and gas company that has helped fund the military that overthrew the country’s elected government a year ago. The EU on Monday imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 22 people and slapped restrictive

GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — A huge Louisiana oil refinery has been rocked by an explosion and fire that injured one worker. Officials later gave the all-clear sign, but it was not immediately clear what caused the morning blast at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. plant in Garyville, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Marathon says one

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A motorcyclist who lost his leg after a collision with an Amazon delivery truck has filed a lawsuit arguing that unrealistic expectations for the tech giant’s delivery drivers have led to negligence. According to The Virginian-Pilot, the lawsuit alleges Justin Hartley was riding his motorcycle in Virginia Beach on Oct. 4

By TALI ARBEL AP Business Writer Howard University has received a $2 million donation to digitize a major collection of Black newspaper archives in hopes of making it more broadly available to researchers and the general public. The Black Press Archives contains over 2,000 newspaper titles from the U.S. and countries in Africa and the