AP National Business

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial savings are returning to stores and splurging on all types of items. But the big question is how much will supply shortages, higher prices and staffing issues dampen shoppers’ mood this holiday season. Shoppers, already

By MIKE CORDER and MARIA CHENG Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union drug regulator has authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old. Thursday’s move clears the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections

By ZEN SOO and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A renowned Chinese fashion photographer has apologized for her past work after online critics called it insulting to the Chinese people and fashion house Dior removed one of her photos from a show in Shanghai. Chen Man apologized in a social media post

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say a fire at a coal mine in Siberia has killed 11 people and injured more than 40. Dozens of others are still trapped. A Russian news agency says the blaze broke out in the Kemerovo region in southwestern Siberia. It said coal dust caught

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets are higher after Federal Reserve officials indicated they were ready to hike interest rates sooner than expected if needed to cool U.S. inflation. London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Hong Kong advanced while Shanghai declined. U.S. markets were closed for a holiday. Notes of the

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say a fire at a coal mine in Siberia has killed nine people and injured 44 others. Dozens of others are still trapped. A Russian news agency says the blaze took place in the Kemerovo region in southwestern Siberia. The report said that coal dust caught fire and the smoke

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it will launch a task force to consider outlawing dog meat consumption after the country’s president offered to look into ending the centuries-old practice. The government on Thursday stopped short of saying the task force would ban dog meat. The seemingly vague

By DAVID McHUGH, EMILY SCHULTHEIS and JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Some of Europe’s Christmas markets are warily opening amid surging coronavirus infections. In Germany, the picturesque Frankfurt market is open over a wider area to thin out the crowds. Markets in Budapest are fenced off and customers have to show proof

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Official figures show Germany has become the latest country to surpass 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Germany’s disease control agency said Thursday it recorded 351 additional deaths in connection with the coronavirus over the past 24 hours. That took the total toll to 100,119.

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed after Federal Reserve officials indicated they were ready to raise interest rates sooner than expected if needed to cool inflation. Shanghai and Seoul declined while Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.2% before markets

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police are hunting for thieves who rushed into a Southern California Nordstrom store Wednesday night and ran off with pricey goods. It’s the latest in a string of organized retail thefts that have hit high-end stores. Police say five people entered the open Nordstrom shortly before 7 p.m. at

By ROGER SCHNEIDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — The FBI’s confirmation last week that it was looking at a spot next to a New Jersey landfill as a possible burial site for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is the latest chapter in a search that began when he disappeared in 1975. Many of the theories

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are lower after Federal Reserve officials indicated they were ready to raise interest rates sooner than expected if needed to cool inflation. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney declined. Tokyo advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.2% before

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are doing the main thing that drives the U.S. economy — spending — but accelerating inflation is casting a pall. A raft of economic data issued Wednesday showed the economy on solid footing, with Americans’ incomes rising and jobless claims falling to a level not

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are doing the main thing that drives the U.S. economy — spending — but accelerating inflation is casting a pall. A raft of economic data issued Wednesday showed the economy on solid footing, with Americans’ incomes rising and jobless claims falling to a level not

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has nominated the first woman to serve as governor of the country’s central bank, saying that getting women into high office was a priority. The move comes one day after another female justice was named to the Supreme Court. But there was little room for celebration about the nomination

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended with scant gains after another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street Wednesday as the market remained unsettled ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, even as slightly more stocks fell than rose. The index, which set a record

Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Gap, Nordstrom fall; Deere, Pure Storage rise.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended with scant gains after another wobbly day of trading on Wall Street Wednesday as the market remained unsettled ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2%, even as slightly more stocks fell than rose. The index, which set a record