AP National Business

By The Associated Press The head of the European Central Bank says the bank would raise interest rates “some time after” ending its pandemic stimulus efforts later this year. The bank faces growing pressure to follow the United States, United Kingdom and other countries in taking a harder line to combat soaring consumer prices. But

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Retail sales rose modestly in March, but higher prices for food, gasoline and other basics took a big share of consumers’ wallets. Retail sales increased 0.5% after registering a revised 0.8% increase from January to February. Spending has been fueled by wage gains, solid hiring

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Air travel is expected to make close to a full recovery this year, and for airlines looking to take advantage of the rebound, size matters. Fleet size is a key motive for JetBlue’s bid to woo budget carrier Spirit Airlines and break up that

BOSTON (AP) — A California-based finance company has agreed to pay more than $900,000 to settle allegations that it was illegally leasing dogs in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said as part of the agreement announced Wednesday, Monterey Financial Services LLC will stop collecting on active leases, cancel about $700,000 in outstanding consumer debt

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Americans kept spending in March even amid higher prices for food, gasoline and other basics, worsened by Russia’s escalating war with Ukraine. Retail sales increased 0.5% after registering a revised O.8% jump from January to February. Spending has been fueled by wage gains, solid hiring

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits ticked up last week but remained at a historically low level, reflecting a robust U.S. labor market with near record-high job openings and few layoffs. Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to 185,000, the Labor Department said, after nearly touching

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla is recalling nearly nearly 595,000 vehicles in the U.S., most for a second time, because a “Boombox” function can play sounds over an external speaker and obscure audible warnings for pedestrians. The company says in government documents that the new recall will disable “Boombox” if owners are using a feature that

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has kept its main interest rate unchanged for a fourth month running even as surging inflation has hit a 20-year high and eroded people’s purchasing power. The bank said Thursday that it was keeping its policy rate constant at 14%. The decision is in line with President Recep

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press The first of four men accused in a failed plan to build a biotechnology plant in Vermont using tens of millions of dollars in foreign investors’ money raised through a special visa program is facing sentencing. Seventy-three-year-old William Stenger, the former president of the Jay Peak ski resort, pleaded guilty

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, MATT O’BRIEN and TOM KRISHER AP Business Writers Tesla CEO Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter outright, saying the social media platform “needs to be transformed” from his perspective as a self-identified “free speech absolutist.” Musk is currently Twitter’s biggest individual shareholder. The company says in a regulatory filing that he

PARIS (AP) — With tensions around the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, the Cannes Film Festival plans to host some 35,000 people as the movie industry looks to reclaim its pre-pandemic glamour. On Thursday, organizers unveiled the 18 films that will compete for the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the May 17-28 festival. They

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say four people have been arrested and have been weapons seized in an investigation of suspected anti-government extremists who allegedly planned to cause a long nationwide blackout and kidnap well-known figures including the country’s health minister. Prosecutors and police said Thursday that raids were carried

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Anti-virus controls are shutting down some of China’s biggest cities and fueling public irritation as infections rise. That is hurting a slowing economy and prompting warnings of possible global shockwaves. Shanghai is easing rules that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes, but most

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Elon Musk is offering to buy Twitter, just days after the Tesla CEO said he would no longer be joining the social media company’s board of directors. Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Musk, who currently owns slightly more than 9% of its stock and

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer UnitedHealth Group delivered a better-than-expected first quarter and raised its 2022 forecast, as growth in Medicare Advantage coverage and care delivery once again helped the health care giant. The nation’s largest health insurance provider said enrollment in its Medicare Advantage plans grew nearly 9% to about 6.9 million people.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are mostly higher after China indicated its central bank will ease reserve requirements for banks to counter the blow to its economy from pandemic shutdowns in big cities like Shanghai. London slipped while Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and Frankfurt gained. U.S. futures were mixed and

By The Associated Press Officials at Europe’s central bank have inflation on their minds. The increase in consumer prices hit a record last month in the 19 countries that use the euro currency. And markets are wondering when the bank will join the U.S. Federal Reserve and others in raising rates. But it’s not so

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankans are sharing milk rice and oil cakes to celebrate their traditional new year opposite President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office where they have camped out for a sixth day demanding his resignation over the worst economic crisis in memory. Soldiers disabled in the island nation’s