AP National Business

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

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s autocratic leader Aleksandar Vucic has challenged Twitter to close his account like it did with Donald Trump’s, after several media outlets under his control have been labeled state-affiliated by the social media site. Vucic said Tuesday that “I can’t wait for them (Twitter) to close my account so I become

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Automaker FCA US has been fined $30 million after admitting that it paid off leaders of the United Auto Workers to try to win concessions in negotiations covering thousands of factory workers. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman also sentenced FCA US Tuesday to three years’ probation and ordered an

By MATTHEW LEE, ASHRAF KHALIL and GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Multiple federal agencies that operated in Afghanistan and worked with Afghan citizens have been hastily purging their websites, removing articles and photos that could endanger the Afghan civilians who interacted with them out of fear of retribution from the Taliban. The concern

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma has told a court that the family will not contribute billions to abate the U.S. opioid crisis unless it is granted protection from current and future lawsuits. David Sackler made a rare public appearance Tuesday as he testified at a bankruptcy

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New COVID-19 measures in New York City are putting restaurant servers, bartenders and ticket agents on the frontline of enforcing vaccination rules. The city is asking restaurants, gyms, museums and many other indoor venues to have patrons show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. That includes

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory production in July posted the strongest gain in 4 months, reflecting a surge in production at auto plants that are still confronting major supply chain problems. The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that manufacturing output increased 1.4% in July following a decline of 0.3% in

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans cut back on their spending last month as a surge in COVID-19 cases kept people away from stores. Retail sales fell a seasonal adjusted 1.1% in July from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was a much larger drop than

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is raising its outlook for the year as Americans, coming out of hibernation,  returned to shopping for back-to-school clothes and travel goods during the fiscal second quarter.  Still, concerns are mounting over spending in the months ahead as the  delta variant of COVID-19 surges

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has officially expanded and extended the nation’s coronavirus state of emergency as government advisers recommend legal changes that would allow penalties for violations. The measures, approved by a government task force, add seven prefectures to the six areas already under a state

By SARA RATHNER of NerdWallet Cryptocurrency is all over the news, and you likely know a few people who invest in crypto. But are you missing out if you haven’t invested in it, too? Not necessarily. According to experts, before dabbling in crypto, it helps to get your financial house in order — that means

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Home Depot’s sales continued to surge, though same-store sales appeared to come back to earth after a year in which the home improvement chain outperformed expectations repeatedly. For the three months ended August 1, sales climbed to $41.12 billion from $38.05 billion. Chairman and CEO Craig Menear said in

MOSCOW (AP) — A prototype military transport plane has crashed while performing a test flight outside Moscow, killing all three crew members on board, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation said. The new light military transport plane, Il-112V, crashed in a forested area as it was coming in for a landing at the Kubinka airfield 45 kilometers

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government’s statistician says there were more job vacancies in the Netherlands in the second quarter of the year than there were people seeking employment. Statistics Netherlands also reported Tuesday that the economy grew by 3.1% compared with the previous quarter. It marks the first time openings have outstripped

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government has taken drastic action by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invoked some of the stirring rhetoric she used early in the pandemic by urging

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Sudoku creator Maki Kaji, whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died at age 69 of cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the numbers puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. He

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have rebounded after Wall Street fell on weak retail sales as investors awaited an update from the Federal Reserve on possible plans to reduce U.S. stimulus. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index declined from a record

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam says organizations that cross “red lines” and disregard national security should disband, though that wouldn’t protect them if they are found to break the law. Hong Kong authorities are carrying out an ongoing crackdown on dissent, as Beijing seeks to keep Hong Kong in line after

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will tighten entry restrictions for travelers arriving from the United States and 15 other countries beginning Friday, extending the quarantine period to 21 days. Previously, the 15 countries, which also include Malaysia, Thailand, France and the Netherlands, were classified as medium-risk, with travelers able to serve only 7 days

By TERENCE CHEA Associated Press FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — A deepening drought threatens California’s $6 billion almond industry, which produces about 80% of the world’s almonds. As water becomes scarce and expensive, some growers have stopped irrigating their orchards and plan to tear them out years earlier than planned. After decades of expansion in California’s