Business

More drops in Big Tech pull stocks lower; Bitcoin drops 19%

Stocks were broadly lower in early trading Wednesday as the market's downturn entered into a third day. Meanwhile the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies dropped sharply.

Benjamin Netanyahu

The Latest: Biden tells Netanyahu he expects de-escalation

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has called for “significant de-escalation” from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Europe

Russian lawmakers vote to follow US out of overflight treaty

MOSCOW — The Russian parliament's lower house voted Wednesday to withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities following the U.S. departure from the pact.

Europe

The Latest: France outdoor cafes reopen after 6 months

PARIS — It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces are reopening Wednesday after a pandemic shutdown of more than six months deprived people of what feels like the essence of life in France.

Europe

Germany welcomes US sanctions U-turn on Russia gas pipeline

BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister on Wednesday welcomed the Biden administration’s decision to waive sanctions against entities and individuals involved in a controversial Russian pipeline, describing the move as “constructive.”

Business

Southwest says flights are more full and fares are rising

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines said Wednesday that bookings are improving and leisure-travel fares for June are approaching pre-pandemic levels, further signs that the airline industry is recovering from a deep slump.

Business

How to ease out of mortgage forbearance, avoid foreclosure

American homeowners were given more opportunity to hit pause on their mortgage payments because of the financial ravages of the pandemic, but that relief is slowly coming to an end.

Europe

JetBlue sets date for start of flights between US and London

JetBlue Airways said Wednesday it will start transatlantic service late this summer, competing against bigger rivals on the lucrative route between New York and London.

Business

Target’s profit surges as Americans cast restrictions aside

NEW YORK — Target's sales and profits surged in the first quarter as Americans emerged from the pandemic eager to spend.

Africa

Malawi burns 20,000 expired AstraZeneca doses despite pleas

Blantyre, Malawi — Malawi has burned nearly 20,000 doses of expired AstraZeneca vaccines, defying calls not to do so from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Europe

Putin, Xi initiate projects in show of warming ties

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin joined Wednesday in a videoconference to initiate a series of nuclear energy projects, an event intended to display warming ties between two nations that have paired-up as the chief geopolitical rivals to the United States.

Europe

UK inflation spikes as retailers respond to lockdown easing

LONDON — Britain’s inflation rate more than doubled in April as energy prices soared and clothing retailers hiked prices as the country's coronavirus lockdown was eased, official statistics showed Wednesday.

Europe

Green governor sets bold climate goals for rich German state

BERLIN — Germany’s only state governor from the rising Green party on Wednesday announced ambitious new climate targets that includes boosting new technologies so that “Tesla will soon only see our tail lights.”

Business

ECB sees elevated risks to financial stability in Europe

FRANKFURT, Germany — The European Central Bank says risks to the stability of companies, banks and financial markets remain “elevated” due to the uneven impact of the pandemic on the economy, warning that the eventual removal of relief measures could lead to a surge in bankruptcies.

Business

Edmunds: Less choice, higher car prices in chip shortage

The pandemic appears to be receding in the U.S. and the economy is recovering, yet car shoppers heading back to car dealerships are in for a surprise: There are fewer vehicles to choose from and higher prices as a result.

Europe

EU court annuls approval of KLM, TAP aid, wants more info

BRUSSELS — A top European Union court on Wednesday annulled the EU's approval of 3.4 billion euros ($4.1 billion) in state aid for the Dutch carrier KLM but suspended its immediate application because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

Business

Indian navy recovers 22 bodies from barge that sank in storm

NEW DELHI — Indian navy ships recovered 22 bodies of people who were aboard a barge that sank off Mumbai as a cyclone blew ashore this week, officials said Wednesday.

Business

Netflix series criticized online in China over Taiwan flag

BEIJING — Chinese nationalism on the internet has a new target: The popular Thai drama “Girl from Nowhere" distributed by Netflix.

Europe

Grand day for the French: Cafe and bistro terraces reopen

PARIS — It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces are reopening Wednesday after a shutdown of more than six months deprived people of what feels like the essence of life — sipping coffee and wine with friends — to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

Europe

Focus on local: London pub emerges from lockdown with gusto

LONDON — “You come here often?”

Business

AP Interview: Disinformation concerns mail voting expert

ATLANTA — Amber McReynolds, CEO of The National Vote at Home Institute, helped state and local election officials prepare for the record number of mailed ballots cast during last year's presidential election.

Business

‘City in transition’: New York vies to turn page on pandemic

NEW YORK — More than a year after coronavirus shutdowns sent “the city that never sleeps” into a fitful slumber, New York could be wide awake again this summer.

Business

Restrictions reimposed as virus resurges in much of Asia

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed, and restaurant service is restricted across much of Asia as the coronavirus makes a resurgence in countries where it had seemed to be well under control.

Business

Can monthly cash payments cut child poverty by nearly half?

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The check won't arrive until mid-July, but Katrina Peters already knows what she’ll do with her Child Tax Credit payments. The 20-year-old mother of three has applied to work as a driver with a food delivery app and the extra cash is earmarked for repairing, registering and insuring her car.

Business

Asian shares drop, tracking Wall Street decline led by tech

TOKYO — Asian shares fell Wednesday, tracking a decline on Wall Street that was led by big technology stocks. Investors are awaiting the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy setting meeting.

Business

NY attorney general says Trump Org probe is now criminal

NEW YORK — The New York attorney general's office said Tuesday that it is conducting a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's business empire, expanding what had previously been a civil probe.

Business

Sri Lankan court: China-built port board needs public assent

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s top court has ruled that some provisions of legislation to set up a powerful economic commission in a Chinese-built port city violate the constitution and require approval by a public referendum to become law.

AP Investigations

Biden moves to improve legal services for poor, minorities

DETROIT — President Joe Biden took executive action Tuesday to ensure minorities, low-income Americans and others have better access to quality legal representation after services dwindled during the Trump administration.

Business

California readies to prevent blackouts, but threats remain

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California's top energy regulators on Tuesday said the state is better prepared to avoid last summer's rotating blackouts, but they cautioned the power grid of the nation's most populous state is still vulnerable to extreme heat waves that could force more outages later this year.