AP National Business

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has fined four major banks a combined $390 million for colluding in a foreign exchange spot trading cartel that allowed them to beat inherent risks in currency deals. HSBC received the biggest fine of almost $200 million, while Credit Suisse, RBS and Barclays received smaller penalties. The European Commission

By SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Duchess of Sussex has won the latest stage in her long-running privacy lawsuit against a British newspaper publisher over its publication of parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father. The Court of Appeal in London upheld a High Court ruling

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her likely successor have met with state governors to consider tighter rules to curb coronavirus infections that again topped 70,000 newly confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that he backs a general vaccine mandate but favors letting lawmakers vote according to

By LORI HINNANT Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Governments around the world are weighing new measures for populations tired of hearing about coronavirus restrictions and vaccines. The proposals have emerged as the delta variant of COVID-19 pushes up cases in Europe and fears grow over the omicron variant. Greeks who are over age 60 and

By AMI BENTOV Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Residents of Israel’s seaside metropolis Tel Aviv have for years complained of how expensive it is, with living costs taking a chunk out of their paychecks. Now a report released Wednesday affirms their dissatisfaction with the prices. Tel Aviv has emerged as the most expensive

LONDON (AP) — A British court is set to reaffirm or quash a ruling that a British newspaper publisher breached the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing portions of a letter she wrote to her estranged father. A High Court judge ruled in February that publication of the letter that the former Meghan

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and CATHY BUSSEWITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — OPEC and allied oil-producing countries are meeting under the spikey shadow of a new COVID-19 threat as they decide how much oil to pump to a world paying more for gasoline. Thursday’s online meeting is clouded by uncertainty over the omicron variant’s impact on

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s highest court has advised that the principle of linking the bloc’s budget disbursements to respect for rule of law is compatible with EU law and that a challenge by Hungary and Poland should be dismissed. The right-wing governments of both nations argued that such

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and Wall Street futures are mixed as traders consider the possible impact of the coronavirus’s omicron variant. London and Frankfurt opened lower and Shanghai and Tokyo fell. Hong Kong advanced. Governments have responded to the variant by tightening travel controls, fueling unease about the

By ARITZ PARRA and EMILIO MORENATTI Associated Press LAS MANCHAS, Canary Islands (AP) — The scientists come with eagle-eyed drones and high-precision instruments. Aided by satellites, they analyze gas emissions and the flows of molten rock. They collect everything on the ground from tiny particles to “lava bombs” the size of watermelons that volcanoes hurl

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed a new treasury and finance minister after Lutfi Elvan stepped down from the post as the currency has been tumbling to record lows. An announcement published in the Official Gazette early Thursday said that Erdogan named deputy minister Nureddin Nebati to the post. The

By LORI HINNANT Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Governments around the world are weighing new measures for populations tired of hearing about restrictions and vaccines with the coronavirus delta variant of COVID-19 pushing up cases in Europe and growing fears over the omicron variant. Greeks who are over age 60 and refuse vaccinations could be

By TERENCE CHEA Associated Press ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Even Christmas trees aren’t immune to the pandemic-induced shortages and inflation plaguing the economy. Extreme weather and supply chain disruptions have reduced supplies of both real and artificial trees this season. Industry officials say American shoppers should expect to have fewer choices and pay up to

By TOM KRISHER Associated Press The Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the U.S. is on hold because of legal challenges, but employers can still require the shots. The regulation says businesses with 100 or more employees need to require COVID-19 vaccination or have workers get tested weekly for the virus. It was set to

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed after a turbulent day on Wall Street as traders tried to forecast the impact of the coronavirus’s omicron variant. Shanghai and Tokyo fell while Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index ended down 1.2%. The was despite

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Members of the United Auto Workers union apparently will approve picking their leaders in direct elections. With 72% of the ballots counted, nearly 63% favor direct elections. About 37% want to keep the current system of delegates selecting the union’s leadership. A federal court-appointed monitor who

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer Organizers for GivingTuesday say American donors gave $2.7 billion during Tuesday’s giving day. The donations top last year’s record, when American donors gave nearly $2.5 billion in the aftermath of the racial justice protests and amid growing needs brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The GivingTuesday organization, which promotes

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom says in no uncertain terms that he thinks shoplifters should be prosecuted under existing California laws. He’s calling out local officials whom he said have been reluctant to do so. He was responding to a recent run of large-scale thefts in California and

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Police were looking for a man dubbed the “snake burglar” who wriggled his way through a Southern California business and fled with several thousands dollars. KNBC-TV says surveillance video shows the man slithering on his belly at the Rustic Roots salon in Riverside last Friday, possibly to avoid a motion sensor.

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The state of Hawaii says a laboratory has detected petroleum product in a water sample from an elementary school near Pearl Harbor. The news comes amid heightened concerns that fuel from a massive Navy storage facility may contaminate Oahu’s water supply. The department says the test result