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.

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

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

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.

Europe

Leaders agree in Paris on helping African economies revive

PARIS — More than 20 African heads of state and top officials from European governments, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed Tuesday to seek an additional $100 billion for reviving Africa's economies crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business

AP FACT CHECK: Hyperbole from Biden, GOP on state of economy

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Republicans alike are revising history when asserting that the new administration set records in U.S. job creation — either the best ever or among the worst, depending on the vantage point.

Business

WH memo sees economic strength where critics see fragility

WASHINGTON — White House officials are seeking to quell anxiety about inflation and the pace of hiring — issuing a memo Tuesday that highlights robust economic gains as the United States gets vaccinated and recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Business

UK job market improving as lockdown measures are eased

LONDON — Further evidence emerged Tuesday to show that the British economy is recovering strongly, with the number of people on payroll increasing as coronavirus lockdown measures are eased.

Business

Samsung thrives as Seoul mulls pardon of corporate heir

SEOUL, South Korea — Pressure is mounting on South Korean President Moon Jae-in to pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, who is back in prison after his conviction in a massive corruption scandal, even though business has rarely looked better at South Korea’s largest company.

Business

Asia shares rise despite ongoing pandemic, inflation worries

TOKYO — Asian shares rose Tuesday, partly on bargain-hunting from the recent global market falls amid continuing pessimism about the conronavirus pandemic.

Business

Japan’s economy shrinks 5.1% as pandemic dries up spending

TOKYO — The Japanese economy contracted at an annual rate of 5.1% in January-March, slammed by a plunge in spending over the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data released Tuesday.

Business

Biden plan would pick winners, losers in move to green jobs

WASHINGTON — In Georgia, school bus-maker Blue Bird has visions of going from selling a few hundred electric buses annually to 15,000. In Michigan, Ford plans to produce an all-electric version of its F-150 pickup truck.

Business

Stocks close higher with help from tech, still down for week

Stocks closed higher for the second day in a row but still ended with a weekly loss after three sizable drops earlier in the week. The S&P 500 added 1.5% Friday, but still lost 1.4% for the week.

Business

Retail sales were flat in April as stimulus spending waned

NEW YORK — Retail sales in the U.S. were flat in April after soaring in March, when many Americans received $1,400 stimulus checks that boosted spending.

Business

Stocks open higher on Wall Street as Big Tech regains ground

Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street following three days of losses and the biggest one-day drop in the S&P 500 since February. Big Tech companies like Apple and Microsoft, which had posted some of the bigger losses this week, were rising in the early going Thursday.

Business

Choppy jobs recovery could mean bumpy economic rebound

April's catastrophic jobs report is a sign that while the U.S. economy continues its post-pandemic recovery, the road ahead will be bumpy.

Business

US unemployment claims drop to 473,000, a new pandemic low

WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 473,000, a new pandemic low and the latest evidence that fewer employers are cutting jobs as consumers ramp up spending and more businesses reopen...

Africa

Tunisia to reopen economy despite hospital strain

TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisian authorities plan to reopen the economy next week amid public pushback against virus restrictions, even as the country's hospitals are struggling for enough oxygen to treat a persistently high number of COVID-19 patients...

Business

Scramble on for new fuel routes after Colonial Pipeline hack

CHAMBLEE, Ga. — State and federal officials are scrambling to find alternate routes to deliver gasoline in the Southeast U.S. after a hack of the nation’s largest fuel pipeline led to panic-buying that contributed to more than 1,000 gas stations running out of fuel...

Business

Consumer prices shot up 0.8% in April as worries escalate

WASHINGTON — A worrisome bout of inflation struck the economy in April, with U.S. consumer prices surging 0.8% and the year-over-year increase reaching its fastest rate since 2008.

Europe

UK economy showed resilience ahead of big lockdown easing

LONDON — The British economy contracted by a quarterly rate of 1.5% in the first three months of 2021, a relatively modest contraction given that the country was in the midst of a strict lockdown to combat a second wave of the coronavirus...

Business

Asian stocks mixed after Wall St falls on inflation fears

BEIJING — Asian stock markets retreated Wednesday as investors looked ahead to U.S. data they worry will show inflation is picking up.

Business

US job openings soar to highest level on record

Yet total job gains increased only modestly, according to a

Europe

British PM seeks to bolster economy, union in new parliament

LONDON — The U.K. government sought to capitalize on its electoral strength Tuesday, outlining a sweeping legislative agenda to bolster the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, defuse tensions that threaten the country’s unity and combat social issues ranging from housing to care for older adults...

Business

German investors increasingly optimistic as COVID cases fall

BERLIN — German investors are increasingly optimistic about the country's economy as the latest surge of new coronavirus infections seems to be slowing, a closely-watched survey showed Tuesday...

Business

Asian shares slide after tech sell-off on Wall Street

BANGKOK — Shares dropped Tuesday in Asia after selling of several Big Tech companies pulled U.S. benchmarks lower.

Business

1.4B but no more? China’s population growth closer to zero

BEIJING — China’s population growth is falling closer to zero, government data showed Tuesday, adding to strains on an aging society with a shrinking workforce as fewer couples have children.

Europe

EXPLAINER: Why the Colonial Pipeline hack matters

NEW YORK — A cyberattack on a critical U.S. pipeline is sending ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation's aging energy infrastructure. The Colonial Pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern seaboard, shut down Friday after a ransomware attack by gang of criminal hackers that calls itself DarkSide...

Business

Correction: College Seniors-Job Market story

In a story May 9, 2021, about college seniors and the job market, The Associated Press erroneously reported Sheila Jordan’s title. She is chief digital technology officer at Honeywell.

Business

Treasury to start paying out $350B in state and local aid

The Treasury Department on Monday launched its $350 billion program to distribute aid to state and local governments, giving the U.S. economy an added boost after relatively modest hiring in April....

Europe

EU: Pandemic measures to total about $5.85 trillion

BRUSSELS — The European Union's top economy official said Monday that the recovery measures the EU and its 27 member states have in the works to emerge from the pandemic total around $5.85 trillion...

Europe

Eyeing reelection bid, Macron looks to repair French economy

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for bringing France out of the pandemic aren't just about resuscitating long-closed restaurants, boutiques and museums. They are also about preparing his possible campaign for a second term...

Business

EXPLAINER: Did US hiring slow because of a ‘labor shortage’?

WASHINGTON — The anticipation for the U.S. jobs report for April, released Friday morning, was high.

Global trade

The Latest: 3rd meat plant shut down in UK local outbreak

LONDON — A meat processing plant in West Yorkshire has been shut down amid a localized outbreak of COVID-19, the third such site to shut down in the U.K. in recent days.

Beijing

Asian stocks mixed amid concern over coronavirus hotspots

BEIJING — Asian stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street closed little-changed amid as optimism about a possible global economic recovery was tempered by concern over rising...

Michael Pence

The Latest: Coronavirus still spreading in 2nd S Korea wave

SEOUL, South Korea — The coronavirus continues to spread in South Korea, particularly in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan region, which is home to half the country’s 51 million people....

International News

UK’s recession ‘less bad’ than feared, Bank of England

LONDON — The Bank of England unveiled another big stimulus package for the U.K. economy as it tries to limit the scale of the coronavirus recession, which it now believes will be “less...

General News

Persistently high layoffs suggest a slow US economic rebound

WASHINGTON — Three months after the viral outbreak shut down businesses across the country, U.S. employers are still shedding jobs at a heavy rate, a trend that points to a slow and prolonged...

U.S. News

US mortgage rates fall; 30-year at all-time low of 3.13%

WASHINGTON — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week as the benchmark 30-year home loan reached a new all-time low.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland reopens, consumers using less cash

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Thursday related to the national and global response, the work place...