AP National Business

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico (AP) — Mexico plans to power up the first phase of a huge solar energy project in April near a beach town popular with tourists making the short drive from the United States. Once completed, the full $1.6 billion project will have a generating capacity of 1,000

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that traded heavily or had substantial price changes Thursday: Meta Platforms Inc., up $35.65 to $188.77. Facebook’s owner reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results and will spend up to $40 billion on its own stock. Align Technology Inc., up $77.35 to $359.88. The maker of Invisalign tooth-straighteners reported strong fourth-quarter profit

The Associated Press Benchmark U.S. crude oil for March delivery fell 53 cents to $75.88 a barrel Thursday. Brent crude for April delivery fell 67 cents to $82.17 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline for March delivery was unchanged at $2.45 a gallon. March heating oil fell 5 cents $2.90 a gallon. March natural gas fell 1

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — One of Haiti’s biggest textile factories says it is closing an assembly plant and laying off 3,500 workers in yet another blow to the country’s crumbling economy. S&H Global said in a statement Thursday that strikes and social unrest have led to numerous delays in shipments, order cancelations and

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate declined for the fourth week in a row, a sign of relative stability that could potentially open the door for some prospective homebuyers to get back in the market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, is leaving his post. Biden says in a statement that Deese will step down as director of the White House National Economic Council. That position had him coordinating policy across the government. He also negotiated with Congress on coronavirus

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Indian Ocean countries who want better safeguards for marine life by updating fishing quotas and restricting harmful catch methods are being resisted by the European Union who has interests in the region, conservation groups say. Officials are gathering in Mombasa, Kenya on Friday Feb. 3 for

By TOM KRISHER and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Two men who began their careers on factory floors are competing to lead the 373,000 members of the United Auto Workers, a union that helps set standards for wages across the nation’s manufacturing sector. It will be the first-ever direct election of a UAW

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials said Thursday a company is recalling its over-the-counter eye drops that have been linked to an outbreak of drug-resistant infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week sent a health alert to doctors, saying the outbreak included at least 55

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Entrepreneur Joe Gebbia donated $25 million to The Ocean Cleanup Thursday to support the nonprofit’s efforts to remove plastic from the world’s oceans and rivers. Experts in the field welcome both the donation and the attention to the issue of ocean sustainability, pointing out that it receives the least

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer U.S. applications for jobless aid fell again last week to their lowest level since April, further evidence that the job market has withstood aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve as it attempts to cool the economy and bring down inflation. Applications for jobless aid in the U.S. for

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s populist president has warned during a chaotic parliamentary session that the Balkan nation could become a European “pariah” state if it rejects a Western plan for normalizing relations with Kosovo. President Aleksandar Vucic faced a hostile reception from right-wing opposition lawmakers on Thursday. They urged

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — You may be sick of politics, but Wall Street is just getting to its favorite part of the presidential calendar. The third year of the presidential cycle has historically been the best for the stock market. Going back to the start of 1945, the S&P

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Gautam Adani was Asia’s richest man when the U.S. short-selling firm Hindenburg Research put out a report last week alleging his businesses have engaged in fraud and stock price manipulation. He isn’t now. The allegations spooked investors, who dumped tens of billions of dollars worth

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s public health agency says countries with deadly cholera outbreaks on the continent have no “immediate access” to vaccines amid a global supply shortage. The acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told journalists on Thursday that the agency is working with

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet A new year means changes to Medicare, including updated premiums and deductibles and sometimes big policy moves. In 2023, there’s a little of everything: Some costs have gone down, others have increased, and there are some notable tweaks to how Medicare works. Understanding what’s new can help you get the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says is responding to “deeply shocking” revelations that debt collectors working for British Gas broke into customers’ homes to install prepay gas meters that left vulnerable people at risk of having their heating cut off. British Gas parent company Centrica PLC said it had

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway says the oil-rich Scandinavian country will become one of the world’s top donors to Ukraine when his government presents another planned military and civilian aid package. Gahr Støre told the Norwegian parliament on Thursday that profits from oil will finance the additional aid, He

By MOSA’AB ELSHAMY and JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The governments of Spain and Morocco have signed deals on managing migration and boosting Spanish investment in Morocco. They were among 20 agreements reached at wide-ranging meetings aimed at turning the page on diplomatic tensions linked to the disputed Western Sahara. Spanish Prime

By AAMER MADHANI and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Three decades after Bill Clinton signed into the law the nation’s family and medical leave legislation, he was back at the White House on Thursday. The 42nd president held forth on what the law has meant to the country, unspooling his trademark blend of