AP National Business

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. fell 0.7% in October, a sign that builders are still facing difficulties keeping up with demand as supply chain problems persist. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that October’s decline put home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Defense lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial have accused prosecutors of again withholding pieces of evidence, including an alleged interrogation of Pope Francis. The allegation brought the pontiff’s own role in a flawed London property investment back before a Vatican city-state tribunal. The court’s

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. fell 0.7% in October, a sign that builders are still facing difficulties keeping up with demand as supply chain problems persist. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that October’s decline put home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press With concern about climate change growing, this holiday season is a chance to try celebrating in more planet-friendly ways. Simple changes to the way we gift wrap, send cards, decorate and entertain can cut out a lot of waste. And often save money in the process. For instance, when gift

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis is recalling more than 240,000 diesel heavy-duty trucks mainly in North America to fix fuel pumps that can fail and cause engine stalling. The recall covers certain 2019 and 2020 heavy-duty pickups and chassis cab trucks equipped with 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engines. The recall comes about a month after the National

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is making billions of dollars available to drugmakers to scale up domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines in the hopes of building capacity to produce an additional 1 billion shots per year to share globally. Under the new initiative previewed Wednesday, the Department of Health

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles will be renamed Crypto.com Arena on Christmas. The home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings and the WNBA’s Sparks will change its name after 22 years. A person with knowledge of the naming rights deal

By MIKE SCHMIDT Edmunds For years the Honda Odyssey sat atop the pile as Edmunds’ top-rated minivan. It defined what a good minivan should be. Then 2021 came and every key minivan brand was updated. One was all new: the Kia Carnival. Carnival used the Odyssey formula and added its own personality. So how does

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — India’s startup Akasa Air has announced it’s choosing CFM International’s LEAP-1B turbofan engines to power its newly bought Boeing 737 Max jets, a deal valued at some $4.5 billion. The companies on Wednesday struck the agreement, which includes spare engines and long-term servicing, at the Dubai Air Show, the

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United Kingdom surged at the fastest rate in nearly a decade in October amid soaring energy costs. The development Wednesday has cemented market expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates next month. The Office for National Statistics says inflation accelerated

By JACKIE VELING of NerdWallet Buy now, pay later payment plans often promise no interest or hidden fees, which can make them a tempting financing option for shoppers. But unlike traditional lenders, some of the popular buy now, pay later providers don’t report on-time payments to the major credit bureaus, meaning you can’t use these

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Target delivered another quarter of strong results, overcoming a slew of challenges from inflationary pressures to congested ports. Third-quarter profits rose nearly 47%, while sales increased 13.2%, both exceeding expectations, and the Minneapolis company raised projections for fourth-quarter comparable store sales. Target joins Walmart heading

LONDON (AP) — Amazon says it will stop accepting Visa credit cards issued in the United Kingdom because of a dispute over fees. The online retail giant said in a message Wednesday to customers that they won’t be able to use them starting Jan. 19. It blamed “the high fees Visa charges for processing credit

LONDON (AP) — U.K. inflation surged to the highest level in nearly a decade in October as energy costs soared and prices rebounded after sharp declines during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to government statistics released Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said consumer price inflation accelerated to 4.2% in the

BEIJING (AP) — China and the U.S. have agreed to ease restrictions on each other’s journalists amid a slight easing of tensions between the two sides. The announcement in the official China Daily newspaper on Wednesday says the agreement was reached ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mostly lower despite a rally on Wall Street after virtual talks between President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping. Shares fell in most major markets although Shanghai’s benchmark rose. The talks between Biden and Xi appeared to signal a step in the right

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in New Delhi have closed schools indefinitely and shut some coal-based power plants to combat worsening pollution while the top court considers a lockdown. It would be a first of its kind in the country to stem pollution and not to control

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Trade Representative Katharine Tai and Japan’s trade minister have agreed to work to resolve a dispute over American tariffs on steel and aluminum as part of a framework for deeper cooperation. Tai and Trade and Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda met Wednesday for talks that followed a

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and SHONAL GANGULY Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in New Delhi have indefinitely closed schools and shut down some coal-based power plants to combat worsening air pollution. The measures come as India’s top court is deliberating whether New Delhi should go into a lockdown as a blanket of toxic smog