AP National Business

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s economic growth slowed more than expected in July as concern about the spread of the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19 overshadowed the government’s decision to end most social distancing rules. The economy expanded 0.1% in the month, down from 1% in June. Economists had expected gross domestic product to increase

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press VAROSHA, Cyprus (AP) — There’s a groundswell of anger among thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees who fear their property in the Turkish-occupied ghost town of Varosha could be forever lost. Once the pride of Cyprus’ tourism industry, the Famagusta suburb has been empty and under military control since 1974, when

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks ended an up-and-down day lower on Wall Street, giving the S&P 500 its fifth consecutive loss and its first weekly decline after two weeks of gains. The benchmark index gave back 0.8% Friday, extending its loss for the week to 1.7%. Technology stocks did

By STACEY PLAISANCE and JAY REEVES Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans is showing signs of making a comeback nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ida blasted coastal Louisiana. Supply trucks are once again delivering beer on Bourbon Street. And the landmark Cafe Du Monde is serving fried pastries covered with white sugar even

By TOM KRISHER and BARBARA ORTUTAY Associated Press The new federal vaccine requirement for large companies has raised concerns over whether it will now be even harder to retain workers or find new ones. President Joe Biden announced sweeping new orders Thursday requiring employers with more than 100 workers to mandate vaccinations against COVID-19 or

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations development agency says Afghanistan is teetering on the brink of “universal poverty” that could become a reality in the middle of next year unless urgent efforts are made to bolster local communities and their economies. It said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

NEW YORK (AP) — The drugmaker Endo International is the latest company to settle a New York case over opioids. The Dublin-based company will pay $50 million in the deal. The state government and the Long Island counties of Suffolk and Nassau are to share in the settlement. Another drugmaker and three distribution companies have

By TRISTAN LAVALETTE and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press PERTH, Australia (AP) — Anyone could be forgiven for forgetting a pandemic ever happened on Australia’s west coast. While the cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the east have been in strict lockdown, the Western Australia state capital Perth has largely remained open for business behind its closed

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s trash disposal company has agreed to pay $36 million in criminal penalties for its role in a wide-ranging bribery scheme involving the city’s former public works director. Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds announced Thursday that the three subsidiaries of Recology Inc. have pledged to cooperate in ongoing investigations

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California public schools and colleges would have to stock their restrooms with free menstrual products under legislation sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom. Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia’s bill that passed Thursday builds on her 2017 law requiring low-income schools in disadvantaged areas to provide students with free

By MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Louisiana wildlife officials say they have documented more than 100 oil-soaked birds after crude oil spilled from a refinery flooded during Hurricane Ida. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said Thursday that a growing number of oiled birds had been observed within heavy pockets of oil

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Thursday that it will pay the full college tuition for hourly workers starting next year, as competition to hire and retain those workers gets fierce. Other companies, including Walmart and Target, have recently started to pay for college or boost their existing programs.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted former Kansas state Rep. Michael Capps on 19 counts alleging that he tried to defraud federal, state and county government organizations out of more than $450,000 in coronavirus relief funding. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas said in a news release Thursday that the Wichita

By DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Government and airline officials are celebrating the conclusion of a 16-year, $6 billion project to untangle the jumble of runways at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. During a Thursday ceremony at the airport, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the O’Hare Modernization Project, which mostly involved extending existing runways

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer McDonald’s will begin selling a vegan burger in the United Kingdom and Ireland this month. The McPlant burger, which was developed with Beyond Meat, features a plant-based patty on a vegan sesame bun with vegan cheese and vegan sauce. Both the patty and the cheese are made with pea

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled Northern California county officials can’t stop trucks from delivering water to Hmong farmers who are illegally growing marijuana. The judge says the practice raises “serious questions” about racial discrimination and leaves the growers without a source of water for drinking, bathing and growing food. The judge

The Associated Press Stocks gave up an early gain and ended lower on Wall Street Thursday, keeping the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on track for their first weekly losses in three weeks. Technology and health care companies posted the biggest losses, offsetting gains in energy companies and banks. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday: Lululemon, Moderna rise; Calavo, Boston Beer fall.

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Six Black farmworkers in Mississippi say their former employer has brought white laborers from South Africa to do the same jobs type of jobs they were doing, but for more pay. They say in a lawsuit that Pitts Farm Partnership has been violating federal law

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Soaring home prices and rents are fueling real estate companies’ appetite for houses, adding unwelcome competition for many would-be homebuyers. Residential real estate bought by companies or institutions hit an all-time high of 67,943 properties in the second quarter. That’s according to Redfin, a Seattle-based