°®¶¹´«Ã½

WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said March 31 that the Justice Department has closed without criminal charges an investigation into political fundraising activity at his former business.

LONDON — OPEC and allied oil producers including Russia decided March 31 to stick to a modest increase in the amount of crude they pump to the world, a step that supports higher prices even as the Biden administration plans to try to lower them by releasing oil from strategic reserves.

Waymo’s self-driving ride-hailing service is branching out to San Francisco, carrying employees in electric Jaguar I-Pace SUVs without human backup drivers.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. Coast Guard prepared a second attempt to free a stranded container ship March 30, more than two weeks after it ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay.

BERLIN — Electric car manufacturer Tesla is opening its first European factory March 22 on the outskirts of Berlin in an effort to challenge German automakers on their home turf.

NEW YORK — Wall Street pointed toward a higher open on March 22, one day after Chairman Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve was prepared to raise its benchmark short-term interest rate by a half-point multiple times, if necessary, to battle inflation.

DETROIT — Canadian Teamsters and CP Rail blamed each other for a work stoppage March 20 that brought trains to a halt across Canada and interrupted fertilizer and other shipments to and from the U.S.

BERLIN — The International Energy Agency says the world could quickly reduce global oil demand by 2.7 million barrels a day by cutting down on car and plane travel, helping easing the supply crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced March 11 the U.S. will dramatically downgrade its trade status with Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine and also ban imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A bid by Exxon Mobil to restart offshore oil wells shut down in 2015 after a pipeline leak caused the worst coastal spill in 25 years was rejected March 8 amid lingering environmental concerns.