AP National Business

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission has for the first time banned a company making so-called stalkerware from continuing in the surveillance app business. Such software is used to surreptitiously track a cellphone user’s activities and location. Its use by violent domestic abusers has been well documented. Wednesday’s

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California could soon force large department stores to display some child products in gender-neutral terms. The California Senate on Monday passed a bill that would require stores with at least 500 employees to maintain gender-neutral sections in their stores. The bill would not ban traditional boys

By MICHAEL BIESECKER and GERALD HERBERT Associated Press PORT FOURCHON, La. (AP) — Aerial survey imagery released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and reviewed by The Associated Press shows what appears to be a miles-long oil slick near an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida. The government imagery released

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Stellantis, the car company that includes Chrysler and Fiat, is getting into the auto-finance business. Stellantis said Wednesday it agreed to pay $285 million for the parent of First Investors Financial Services Group. That company is based in Houston, and buying it will give Stellantis the ability to offer in-house

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino giant Caesars Entertainment says a conference scheduled next month in Las Vegas by a group espousing the fringe QAnon conspiracy theory won’t be held at any Caesars property. It wasn’t immediately clear if the “Patriot Double Down” event organized by Patriot Voice would be moved, postponed or canceled. Event officials

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will start issuing $5,000 fines to businesses, schools and government agencies that require people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill earlier this year that banned vaccine passports. The fines will start Sept. 16 if people are asked to show proof of a

The Associated Press Stocks eked out some modest gains on Wall Street Wednesday, enough to nudge the Nasdaq composite index to another all-time high. The S&P 500 gave up nearly all of a midday gain and ended barely higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell, while small-company stocks did better than the rest of the

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Wednesday: Campbell Soup, PVH rise; Dycom, Freeport-McMoRan fall.

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona newspaper publisher who repeatedly claimed his ex-wife poisoned him has dropped lawsuits against her ahead of a trial that was scheduled to start this week. Joseph Soldwedel sued Felice Aspiranti amid a bitter divorce after police found no evidence of his claim that she

The Associated Press Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities, and foreign exchange levels.

By KATHY GANNON, RAHIM FAIEZ and EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An official says the United Nations’ stockpiles of food could run out this month in Afghanistan. That is threatening to add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the country’s new Taliban rulers as they try to restore stability after

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old boy was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a fire caused by an electric scooter that was charging overnight. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Wednesday that firefighters worked “heroically” to remove 14 people from the Queens building where the fire

BERLIN (AP) — The World Health Organization has inaugurated a new “hub” in Berlin that aims to help prepare the globe better to prevent future pandemics. The U.N. health agency’s director-general and Germany’s chancellor cut the ribbon to launch the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. WHO says Germany is making an initial

By Mae Anderson AP Business Writer New York (AP) — Small businesses are struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, facing days or weeks without power and Internet, storm damage and difficulty communicating with clients or customers. Experts say there are several ways to begin to recover from a natural disaster, including low-interest natural disaster

By TATIANA POLLASTRI and DAVID BILLER Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Packages have only just started reaching doorsteps in Sao Paulo’s second-biggest favela, Paraisopolis. It’s thanks to a bespectacled 21-year-old with a degree in information technology. Inspired by community-led distribution of food kits and donations during the pandemic, Giva Pereira founded a logistics startup

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — OPEC and its allies are adding more oil back to the market as demand recovers from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. The oil producing cartel and its allies agreed during an online meeting Wednesday to stick to plans and add back 400,000 barrels of oil per day from Oct. 1.

MADRID (AP) — Households and businesses in Spain will be thinking twice about using appliances and switching on lights starting Thursday when the country sees a new record for the cost of electricity. The electricity market operator for the Iberian Peninsula says customers in both Spain and Portugal will pay an average of 140 euros,

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s highest court say an Indian Swiss tycoon could owe the Geneva region about $137 million in back taxes over allegations he tried to pass himself off as a resident of Monaco and falsified the value of his fortune. The tax allegations came to light after Geneva

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco has launched a campaign to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children from 12 to 17. It has become one of the first African countries to inoculate that age group. The World Health Organization says that the North African country has already given around 33 million doses to adults this year. Morocco