AP National Business

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress took a big step toward avoiding a partial federal shutdown on Thursday when the Senate passed a bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 3. The House is expected to soon follow suit. The votes will help avert one crisis, but efforts to stave off

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain has launched a diplomatic offensive to preserve its essential stream of Algerian natural gas as souring relations between Algeria and Morocco threaten to disrupt the supply chain. Algeria is planning to shut down a pipeline that supplies nearly half of Spain’s imported Algerian natural gas via

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — United Airlines says only about 300 employees out of its U.S. workforce of 67,000 face dismissal for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s about half as many as the airline said faced termination earlier this week. United said Thursday that the difference is coming from

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that current high levels of inflation are likely to fade next year and won’t prevent the Fed from pushing toward its goal of full employment. In comments before the House Financial Services Committee, Powell said he believes inflation will

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Recent leaf-peeping seasons have been disrupted by weather conditions in New England, New York and elsewhere. Arborists and ecologists say the trend is likely to continue as the planet warms. The leaves have been subjected to droughts that cause leaves to turn brown and wither before

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks moved broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday as the major indexes headed for steep monthly losses. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and is on track for a 4.4% loss in September. It would mark the first monthly loss since January and the worst for the benchmark index

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The company that owns Churchill Downs racetrack has placed its own big wager by announcing plans to open a casino-style venue in downtown Louisville. With its new entertainment facility, Churchill Downs Inc. is deepening its commitment to wagering on historical horse races. The company said Thursday

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai is opening Expo 2020 in an extravagant ceremony that was delayed a year by the coronavirus pandemic. The event will last six months and has over 190 countries taking part. Thursday night’s opening ceremony saw performances by hundreds of singers, dancers and acrobats.

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Brace for a rude surprise on your winter heating bills. After years of unusually inexpensive levels, the price of natural gas in the United States has more than doubled since this time last year. In Europe and Asia, wholesale prices are more than five times

By CHARLENE PELE Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate said youth delegates at a gathering in Italy’s financial capital are struggling to get their voices through in an event that she and others complain has been heavily orchestrated. Nakate is among 400 activists invited to Italy’s financial capital for a three-day

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde says Europe’s monetary authority isn’t about to “overreact” to temporary inflation by tightening policy. Lagarde said Tuesday that currently higher inflation of 3% in the eurozone is temporary, caused by bottlenecks and one-time factors. She said the bank still needs to nurture the ongoing recovery

BERLIN (AP) — A Munich court has heard a claim for compensation from a German certification company over a devastating dam collapse in Brazil in January, 2019. More than 270 people died when the dam at a mine operated by Brazilian mining giant Vale collapsed, flooding nearby Brumadinho with mud. A local unit of Germany’s

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — While acknowledging the inevitable advance of alternative energy sources and technology, OPEC said that oil will be dominate energy source for decades to come with crude prices reaching three-year highs. In its annual World Oil Outlook, OPEC acknowledged Tuesday that more electric vehicles on the

By BRUCE SCHREINER, TOM KRISHER and ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press GLENDALE, Ky. (AP) — When Ford revealed plans to ramp up its commitment to the electric vehicle sector, the automaker chose two states where Republican leaders have vilified the push for green energy and defended fossil fuels. The project is expected to create nearly 11,000

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is sounding an urgent call for Congress to raise the U.S. government’s borrowing limit, a day after Senate Republicans blocked consideration of a bill that would have done so. Yellen is testifying to a Senate committee at a hearing to update Congress

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks fell broadly in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday, led by more declines in Big Tech companies. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 2%. Microsoft, Google’s parent company and Facebook were down between 2.5% and 3.3%. The weakness in tech came as

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined for the third straight month in September amid ongoing worries about the rapidly-spreading delta variant of the coronavirus. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 109.3 in September, down from 115.2 in

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of British gas stations have run dry, as motorists scrambled to fill up amid a supply disruption due to a shortage of truck drivers. Long lines of vehicles formed at many gas stations over the weekend, and tempers frayed as some drivers waited for hours. The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents

By JUSTIN SPIKE and DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A diplomatic conflict between Hungary and Ukraine has deepened. The two countries summoned each others’ ambassadors Tuesday over Budapest’s decision to sign a long-term contract to purchase Russian gas. Ukraine considers Hungary’s 15-year deal with Russian gas company Gazprom a blow to its

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Youth climate activists Vanessa Nakate and Greta Thunberg have chastized global leaders for failing to meet funding pledges to fight climate change and for delivering too much “blah blah blah’’ as climate change wreaks havoc around the world. Four hundred climate activists from 180 countries were invited