WASHINGTON (AP) ― Businesses are growing more confident in the U.S. economy, investing in more equipment and laying off fewer workers.Government figures on manufacturing and unemployment claims released Thursday raised hopes on the eve of a report on how much the economy grew in the October-December quarter.Still, 2011 ended up as the worst year on record for new-home sales, a reminder that the economy has a long way to go.“Business optimism seems to be picking up, which is critical to the growt

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) ― International action to snuff out cybercrime is desperately needed, officials and business leaders said here, warning that criminals move at Internet speed while countries drag their feet.Many hackers are no longer just mischievous individuals. Instead well-funded organizations do it for profit, along with spies and terrorists, but many governments are struggling to fight it.“Many countries don’t have laws to criminalize cyber crime, they don’t have means and tools to

NEW YORK (AP) ― Apple briefly surpassed Exxon as the most valuable U.S. company after an excellent quarter, though the oil company has regained the lead at the market’s close. Apple’s stock rose as much as 8 percent, while Exxon’s fell as much as 2 percent during trading Wednesday. Exxon Mobil Corp.’s stock closed up 4 cents at $87.22 for a market capitalization of $418 billion. Apple’s increased 6 percent to $446.66 for a market cap of about $415 billion. Apple said Tuesday that net income in i

Lawmakers to take up bill banning oil exports to European countries in retaliation for embargoTEHRAN (AP) ― Iran’s parliament will begin debating a draft bill requiring the government to immediately halt oil exports to Europe, a prominent lawmaker said Wednesday, as Tehran weighs its options following the European Union’s decision to stop importing oil from the country. The EU embargo, announced on Monday, was the latest attempt to try to pressure Iran over a nuclear program the United States an

CAIRO (AP) ― Crowds of several hundred thousands teemed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of Egypt’s 2011 uprising, with liberals and Islamists in a competition over the course of the revolution, reflecting the deep political divides since the downfall of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.Massive groups tens of thousands marched through different neighborhoods of Cairo in processions organized by liberal and secular groups, growing on route and chanting for the mili

TOKYO (AP) ― The Japanese government’s worst-case scenario at the height of the nuclear crisis last year warned that tens of millions of people, including Tokyo residents, might need to leave their homes, according to a report obtained by the Associated Press. But fearing widespread panic, officials kept the report secret.The recent emergence of the 15-page internal document may add to complaints in Japan that the government withheld too much information about the world’s worst nuclear accident

OHI, Japan (AP) ― Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday began their first inspection of a Japanese nuclear power plant that has undergone official “stress tests’’ ― a key step required to restart dozens of nuclear plants idled in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.A 10-member IAEA team was inspecting the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui, western Japan, where there is a string of reactors.“We look forward to seeing the types of specification