AP National Business

BERLIN (AP) — Members of a new expert panel advising the German government on its response to the coronavirus pandemic are holding their first meeting. The meeting Tuesday comes amid signs that restrictions imposed in recent weeks are beginning to slow infection rates. Germany’s disease control agency reported 30,823 newly confirmed cases in the past

By MELISSA LAMBARENA of NerdWallet When you’re trying to stay accountable and motivated while paying down debt, visual aids can offer encouragement and help you celebrate the small wins. They can shift the focus to your progress instead of a distant debt-free date. A simple search online can open the door to a variety of

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Pfizer says that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears effective against the omicron variant. The company also confirmed Tuesday that the pill delivered on promising early results in reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. The updates come as U.S. regulators are expected to soon decide on whether to

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he has applied to be the next governor of Norway’s central bank in an appointment that would last for six years if he gets the job. The current governor of Norges Bank is retiring in early 2022 after holding the

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A large-scale analysis in South Africa says that two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination provides just 33% protection against infection by the omicron coronavirus variant but 70% protection against hospitalization. Tuesday’s first large-scale analysis of vaccine effectiveness in the region where the new variant was discovered appears to support early

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s jobs market appears to have brushed aside the ending of a salary support program that supported millions of jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. The Office for National Statistics found Tuesday that the number of workers on payroll rose by a record 257,000 in November to a

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares have opened higher in Europe after Asian shares followed Wall Street lower. Investors are awaiting fresh inflation data and the outcome of a meeting of the Federal Reserve. Benchmarks advanced in Paris, London and Frankfurt, but fell in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Markets will

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Toyota is beefing up its electric vehicle lineup, offering 30 new fully electric models by 2030. President Akio Toyoda said Toyota plans to sell 3.5 million electric vehicles globally in 2030. That’s up from its earlier plan to sell 2 million zero emission hydrogen

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks are mostly lower in Asia after Wall Street retreated from recent record levels on weakness in technology shares. Hong Kong’s benchmark slipped on persisting worries over property developers. Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai also declined. On Monday, the S&P 500 fell 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia says it plans to start making mRNA vaccines at home with a new plant that could produce up to 100 million doses each year. The announcement came as coronavirus cases in Sydney and surrounding areas jumped, driven in part by the omicron variant. The new factory would be built in

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — A group of lawmakers say proposed British rules aimed at cracking down on harmful online content should be beefed up with tougher measures. They include making it illegal to send unsolicited graphic images, requiring porn sites to ensure children can’t gain access and moving faster to

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York state judge has been convicted of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making a false statement to a federal agent. The verdict against State Supreme Court Justice Sylvia Ash was returned Monday in Manhattan federal court. Ash was accused of taking steps over multiple months to obstruct an investigation

By SARAH RANKIN and ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The information technology agency that serves Virginia’s legislature has been hit by a ransomware attack that has substantially affected its operations. A spokesperson for Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday confirmed the attack on Virginia’s Division of Legislative Automated Systems. The spokesperson says the

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — Attorneys in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case have reached a tentative settlement under which one of the organization’s largest insurers would contribute $800 million into a fund for victims of child sexual abuse. The agreement announced Monday calls for Century Indemnity Co. and affiliated

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is bringing back a statewide indoor mask mandate. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced the new mandate will start Wednesday and last until Jan. 15. The order comes as the per capita rate of new coronavirus cases in California has jumped 47% in the past two