AP National Business

By KATHLEEN FOODY and JILL BLEED Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path is spreading rain, freezing rain and heavy snow further across the country. The storm is disrupting travel as roads in many states were left icy and airlines canceled thousands of flights. A long

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s energy regulator says a cap on energy prices is going up by a record 54% because of soaring costs of wholesale natural gas. The change announced Thursday will significantly burden millions of households already squeezed by rapidly climbing bills. The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — World leaders are trying to walk a diplomatic tightrope that could mean the difference between war in Ukraine and an uneasy peace there as Russia’s menacing actions on the border of its neighbor continue unabated. Russian President Vladimir Putin is back at the Kremlin following his diplomatic

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities say a container ship has run aground off a German North Sea island, and an initial attempt to free it was unsuccessful. Shipping company Maersk said on Twitter that the Mumbai Maersk ran aground on a “shallow patch” on Wednesday night. It said that “all crew are safe, there is no

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil and gas company has announced the discovery of between 1.5 to 2 trillion standard cubic feet of raw gas in an offshore area located in the northwest of the emirate. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, also known as ADNOC,

HELSINKI (AP) — Nokia has reported profits in line with analyst expectations and says the wireless and fixed-network equipment maker will resume paying a dividend and launch a share-buyback program. The Espoo, Finland-based company on Thursday reported net profit of 727 million euros for the October-December period, compared with 787 million euros a year earlier.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s annual inflation came in at nearly 49%, hitting a nearly 20-year high and further eroding people’s ability to buy even basic things like food. The Turkish Statistical Institute said Thursday that the consumer price index increased by just over 11% in January from the previous month. The data shows that

COPENHAGEN (AP) — The director of the World Health Organization’s Europe office says the continent is now entering a “plausible endgame” to the pandemic and that the number of coronavirus deaths is now starting to plateau. Dr. Hans Kluge said at a media briefing Thursday that there is a “singular opportunity” for countries to take

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden is joining other European nations in saying it will drop coronavirus restrictions. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson says “it is time to open Sweden again.” She announced the restrictions will be dropped from Feb. 9. Sweden will allow people to return to restaurants with no limitation on how many people can be

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has the job of explaining why the bank isn’t raising interest rates despite record high inflation as it left its key economic stimulus programs in place. The bank for the 19 countries that use the euro is moving more

By SYLVIE CORBET and LORNE COOK The Associated Press LILLE, France (AP) — European Union interior ministers are debating ways to beef up the 27-nation bloc’s borders including by erecting walls or fences. They were meeting Thursday in northern France and will examine yet again how to kick-start desperately needed reforms to the EU’s malfunctioning

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares have fallen in Europe after a mixed day in Asia, with markets in China still closed for Lunar New Year holidays. U.S. futures were lower as investors watched for updates on monetary policy from the Bank of England and European Central Bank. Shares rose Wednesday

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — American and European officials may be staying away from the Beijing Winter Olympics because of human rights concerns, but Russian President Vladimir Putin will be on hand even as tensions soar over his buildup of troops along his country’s border with Ukraine. Putin’s talks with Chinese President

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil and gas company has announced the discovery of between 1.5 to 2 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in an offshore area located in the northwest of the emirate. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, also known as ADNOC, said

LONDON (AP) — The pay-TV sports market in Britain could be shaken up after media companies Discovery and BT Group said they are in exclusive discussions about forming a partnership. The potential deal would see BT Sport link up with Discovery-owned Eurosport UK in what they are calling a 50/50 venture. BT Sport holds the

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates for the second time in three months. That would put the United Kingdom far ahead of the rest of Europe and the U.S. in moving to tame surging inflation that’s squeezing consumers and businesses. Economists and investors

By LORNE COOK and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is concerned about Russia’s continued military buildup around Ukraine. He says that Moscow has now deployed more troops and military equipment to neighboring Belarus that at any time in the last 30 years. Russia now has more than 100,000 troops

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Nintendo has reported its profit for the nine months through December slipped 2.5% as shortages of computer chips hurt production. The Japanese video game maker behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises said its sales also fell, by 6%. Game makers have reaped windfall profits from

By RAF CASERT Associated Press SAINT-SYMPHORIEN, Belgium (AP) — Many European Union nations are wary about spending big on their militaries. They remain scarred by losing tens of millions of lives on their soil in two world wars. They’re now facing a painful reality as Russian pressure builds at the Ukrainian border. Much of Europe