AP National Business

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has painted a rosy picture of her government’s record and assailed the possibility of a future left-wing administration. She sought to boost her struggling party’s candidate on Tuesday as she addressed what is expected to be the German parliament’s last session before the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a tax increase to pay for the rocketing cost of long-term care for Britain’s growing older population. Johnson told lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday that he had made the “difficult but responsible” decision to hike taxes in

By TARIK EL BARAKAH Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Politicians from dozens of political parties were campaigning for a final day Tuesday, trying to reach out to millions of Moroccans despite social distancing measures a day before pivotal legislative, regional and local elections. A moderate Islamist party hopes to remain at the helm of

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese prosecutors have dropped a case against a former Alibaba manager accused of sexual assault by a female colleague, weeks after the case caused a backlash against the e-commerce firm for how it handles alleged sexual misconduct. The former manager, whose last name is Wang, was detained by police in August after

BERLIN (AP) — Official figures show that German industrial production increased in July after three consecutive months of declines that have reflected supply chain problems. The Economy Ministry said Tuesday that overall production increased by 1% compared with the previous month. In June, it had dropped 1%. There were bigger increases in the production of

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks are mixed in Asia after shares closed mostly lower on Wall Street as traders returned from the Labor Day holiday. Shares were higher in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai but fell in Seoul and Sydney. On Tuesday, gains for some Big Tech companies nudged

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s import and export growth accelerated in August despite disruptions due to the spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant. Customs data reported Tuesday show exports rose 25.6% to $294.3 billion, up from July’s 18.9% growth. Imports rose 33.1% to $236 billion, up from the previous month’s

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — Over two decades, the United States and its allies spent hundreds of millions of dollars building databases for the Afghan people. The nobly stated goal was to promote law and order and government accountability, and to modernize a war-ravaged land.  But in the Taliban’s lightning seizure

By MATTHEW DALY and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers from both parties say haunting images of surging rivers, flooded roads and tornado damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida show the need to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure network. As the deadly storm moved from the Gulf Coast through the Northeast

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have risen as investors watch for decisions from central banks in Europe and elsewhere about when they might start to wind down economic stimulus. Shares advanced in Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong, which are the bulk of Asia’s market capitalization. Seoul and Sydney

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Two critical jobless benefit programs have expired, leaving only a handful of economic options for millions who are still financially impacted by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic. One program provided jobless aid to self-employed and gig workers and another provided benefits to those who have been

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain says it is postponing the start of post-Brexit border checks on goods going to Northern Ireland, as it seeks breathing space in its tense standoff with the European Union over trade rules. Brexit Minister David Frost said Monday that the government would continue to trade “on

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — French energy giant Total has signed mega contracts with Iraq worth $27 billion to develop oil fields, natural gas and a crucial water project. Officials say Monday they will be key for oil-rich Iraq to maintain crude output. The deals were inked Sunday with Prime Minister Mustafa

By CHRISTINA PACIOLLA Associated Press The morning after one of the most intense tornadoes recorded in New Jersey history all but demolished the largest dairy farm in the state, owners Marianne and Wally Eachus looked at each other and just cried. An EF3 tornado ripped through Mullica Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, and nearly demolished

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have blocked access to a website affiliated with imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny that advises voters on how to undermine the dominant pro-Kremlin party in this month’s parliamentary election. The move by the state communications overseer on Monday continues months of efforts to neutralize Navalny and his supporters. A Russian

By PETER DEJONG and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The U.N.’s top climate official is urging governments to stop their “deferral and delay” tactics and instead embrace rapid, widespread measures to curb and adapt to global warming. Amid a season of extreme weather and new temperature records, Patricia Espinosa warned that no

By BEN FINLEY and TOM KRISHER Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — When negotiations failed to produce a new contract at a Volvo plant in Virginia this spring, its 2,900 workers went on strike. The company soon dangled what looked like a tempting offer: Pay raises. Signing bonuses. Lower-priced health care. Yet the workers overwhelmingly

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — An International Atomic Energy Agency mission has arrived in Japan to help prepare for a decades-long release into the ocean of treated but still radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. The three-member team will meet with officials in Tokyo and travel to the Fukushima Daiichi

By PAUL WISEMAN and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Joe Sobol, owner of Big Easy Construction in New Orleans, has bad news for homeowners who’ve been calling about roofs damaged by Hurricane Ida. The job will cost a lot more than usual — and take much longer, too. Ida slammed into the Gulf Coast —

By GISELA SALOMON, MARCOS ALEMAN and CLAUDIA TORRENS The Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Several countries have dabbled in cryptocurrencies, but none has gone so far as El Salvador. It’s adopting Bitcoin as an official currency on Tuesday. The Central American nation is betting it will spur the economy and increase money sent home by