AP National Business

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s health minister says the country plans to impose fines of up to 3,600 euros (around $4,000) on people who flout a coronavirus vaccine mandate for all residents ages 14 and over that it aims to introduce in February. The government announced last month that it would

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years, more evidence that the U.S. job market is recovering from last year’s coronavirus recession. Unemployment claims dropped by 43,000 to 184,000 last week, the lowest since September 1968,

The Associated Press Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street Thursday as investors tapped on the brakes after three days of gains. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.2% in the early going, and the Nasdaq gave up 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%. The modest pullback came after investors pushed the S&P

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years, more evidence that the U.S. job market is recovering from last year’s coronavirus recession. Unemployment claims dropped by 43,000 to 184,000 last week, the lowest since September 1968,

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer CVS Health is hiking its dividend and offering a better-than-expected 2022 revenue forecast as the health care giant prepares to dive deeper into providing more care. CEO Karen Lynch said in a statement that the drugstore chain, pharmacy benefits manager and health insurer is planning its next “major evolution”

By KIYOKO METZLER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Negotiations between Iran and world powers aimed at salvaging a tattered 2015 nuclear deal have resumed in Vienna, with tensions high after Tehran made demands last week that European countries strongly criticized. The talks’ chairman said Wednesday that he detected “a renewed sense of purpose.” Diplomats from

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Last August, Vince Patton was watching a YouTube video of a Tesla owner who had made a startling observation: Tesla drivers could now play a video game on their car’s touch-screen dashboard — while the vehicle is moving. Curious to see for himself, Patton drove his

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. authorities are reporting an unprecedented jump in early season cases of avian flu in both domestic and wild birds. Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said Thursday that the government has confirmed 40 outbreaks of avian flu among poultry and other captive birds this year, resulting in

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank is trying to restrain the rise of the yuan after the currency hit a 2 1/2-year high against the dollar. Commercial banks have been ordered to increase the amount of their foreign currency deposits that are held as reserves for the second time

By JAMEY KEATEN and MIKE CORDER Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization has expressed concerns that rich countries spooked by the emergence of the omicron variant could step up hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines and strain global supplies again. It said Thursday that could complicate efforts to stamp out the pandemic. The U.N.

MILAN (AP) — Italian bank UniCredit has announced a three-year business plan that includes distributing some 16 billion euros to shareholders from 2022 to 2024. The plan released Thursday under new CEO Andrea Orcel also calls for raising net profit to 4.5 billion euros by 2024, from a targeted 3.3 billion this year. The bank’s

By KATIA IERVASI of NerdWallet Along with basic expenses like food and toys, new pet owners need to prepare for the cost of medical care. Each year, dog owners spend an average of $242 on routine visits to a veterinarian and $458 on surgical visits, and cat owners spend slightly less, according to the American

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a plan to give people 60 and older up to 300 euros ($339) if they are vaccinated against COVID-19. The measure should boost inoculations in the European Union country with one of the bloc’s lowest vaccination rates. It should also help the struggling health care system amid

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison personally knows about racism. He grew up in segregated rural Tennessee. His father was a sharecropper-turned-insurance salesman and his mother was one of the first in their family to graduate from high school. Today, Ellison stands out as one of only

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of Indian farmers have suspended a year-long protest after the government withdrew contentious farm laws and set up a committee to consider their other demands, including guaranteed prices for key crops and the withdrawal of criminal cases against the protesters. Farmers started removing their tents

MILAN (AP) — Italy’s anti-trust authority has fined Amazon 1.13 billion euros, accusing the company of exploiting its dominant position against independent sellers on its website in violation of European Union competition rules. Thursday’s fine is one of the largest leveraged in Europe against the online retail giant, which expanded in particular in Italy during

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank governor says financial markets can cope with the impact of a real estate developer that is struggling to avoid defaulting on $310 billion in debt. Yi Gang’s comments to a Hong Kong seminar added to indications Beijing has no plans to bail out