Month: February 2018

Federal investigators are still looking at how CSX railway crews routed an Amtrak train into a parked freight train in Cayce, South Carolina, last weekend. But even if CSX should bear sole responsibility for the accident, Amtrak will likely end up paying crash victims’ legal claims with public money. Amtrak pays for accidents it didn’t cause because of secretive agreements negotiated between the passenger rail company, which receives more than $1 billion annually in federal subsidies, and the private railroads, which own 97 percent of the tracks on which Amtrak travels. Both Amtrak and freight railroads that own the tracks fight to keep those contracts secret in legal proceedings. But whatever the precise legal language, plaintiffs’ lawyers and former Amtrak officials say Amtrak generally bears the full cost of damages…

Increasing demand for long-haul truckers in the United States is drawing more African immigrants onto America's roads. VOA's Arzouma Kompaoré hitched a ride with African truckers whose routes to success stretch across the United States. ...

There are growing fears that Britain could be headed for a so-called cliff-edge exit from the European Union, as big differences remain between Brussels and London over the shape of any deal. It comes as Japan warns its businesses may pull out of Britain if they face higher costs after Brexit. A leaked government analysis suggests that economic growth in Britain will decline by up to 8 percent after it leaves the bloc. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. ...

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP said Saturday that it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to physicians, following widespread criticism of the ways that drugmakers market addictive painkillers. The drugmaker said it will inform doctors Monday that its sales representatives will no longer be visiting physician offices to discuss its opioid products. It will now have about 200 sales representatives, Purdue said. “We have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and will no longer be promoting opioids to prescribers,” the Stamford, Connecticut-based company said in a statement. New marketing push Doctors with opioid-related questions will be directed to its medical affairs department. Its sales representatives will now focus on Symproic, a drug for treating opioid-induced constipation, and other potential non-opioid products, Purdue said.…

It's been a tough week on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed more than 300 points higher Friday, after plunging more than 1,000 points the day before, the second steepest decline in history. The biggest dive happened Monday when the blue chip index fell more than 1,100 points. It's enough to make even the most experienced investors swoon. But does this mean the end of the nine-year bull market? Is it time to worry? Mil Arcega spoke with economic analysts to get some answers. ...

U.S. stocks slumped Friday afternoon after opening higher in the last trading session of a turbulent week in which the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index plunged into correction territory for the first time in two years. The Dow, the more broad-based S&P 500 and the technology-laden NASDAQ composite were all about one percent lower in afternoon trading. Earlier Friday, global stock indexes closed out the week in negative territory, deepening the weeklong sell-off. France's CAC 40 Index fell 1.2 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 Index lost seven-tenths of one percent and Germany's DAX finished 1.2 percent lower. Asian benchmarks fell more sharply. China's Shanghai Composite Index plummeted 4 percent, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 retreated 2.3 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost just over 3…

Kenya's cut-flower industry has blossomed since the 1980s, and now holds the biggest market share for exports to Europe. Kenya's flower producers are hoping direct flights set to open between Nairobi and New York City could help them put down roots in a new market — the United States. On the cutting floor of a factory in Naivasha, about a hundred workers dressed in red smocks stand at sorting tables, some with blades at the ready. The remnants of their work lay scattered about on the gray cement floor.  Naivasha is Kenya's floriculture heartland and workers at Van den Berg Kenya are trimming, packing and refrigerating bundles of roses.  With Valentine's Day just around the corner, this is the busiest time of year for flower growers in Kenya — the…

U.S. stocks tumbled again Thursday as investors continued to fret about the possibility of rising inflation and higher interest rates.  For the second time in four days, the Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 1,000 points, or 4.2 percent, to end Thursday day at 23,860. The Standard and Poor's Index, the benchmark for many index funds, also shed 100.66 points, or 3.8 percent, to close at 2,581. It last hit that low in mid-November. The two indexes have dropped 10 percent from their all-time highs, set on January 26. That means they are in what is known on Wall Street as a "correction," fueled by fears that a long stretch of low interest rates and tame inflation, which helped driven up stock prices, might be coming to an end. As…

China’s export growth accelerated in January amid mounting trade tension with Washington while imports surged as factories stocked up ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. Exports rose 11.1 percent compared with a year earlier to $200.5 billion, up from December’s 10.9 percent growth, trade data showed Thursday. Imports surged 36.9 percent to $180.1 billion, up from the previous month’s 4.5 percent. China’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States widened by 2.3 percent from a year ago to $21.9 billion, while its global trade gap narrowed by 60 percent to $20.3 billion. “Export growth remained robust in January, indicating steady global demand momentum,” said Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics in a report. “While we expect the favorable external setting to continue to support China’s exports, rising U.S.-China trade…

Dutch lender Rabobank’s California unit agreed Wednesday to pay $369 million to settle allegations that it lied to regulators investigating allegations of laundering money from Mexican drug sales and organized crime through branches in small towns on the Mexico border. The subsidiary, Rabobank National Association, said it doesn’t dispute that it accepted at least $369 million in illegal proceeds from drug trafficking and other activity from 2009 to 2012. It pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States for participating in a cover-up when regulators began asking questions in 2013. The penalty is one of the largest U.S. settlements involving the laundering of Mexican drug money, though it’s still only a fraction of the $1.9 billion that Britain’s HSBC agreed to pay in 2012. It surpasses…

The rollercoaster ride continued in financial markets Tuesday, with sharp swings rocking major indexes from Asia, Europe and North America. The volatility intensified just a day after the steepest drop on Wall Street on Monday, after the Dow Jones Industrial index plunged nearly 1,200 points. But if the sharp sell-off came as a shock to some, analysts who spoke with VOA say it's a shock many had been anticipating for some time. Mil Arcega explains. ...

In the heartland of the tequila industry, in Mexico's western state of Jalisco, a worsening shortage of agave caused by mounting demand for the liquor from New York to Tokyo has many producers worried. The price of Agave tequilana, the blue-tinged, spiky-leaved succulent used to make the alcoholic drink, has risen six-fold in the past two years, squeezing smaller distillers' margins and leading to concerns that shortages could hit even the larger players. In front of a huge metal oven that cooks agave for tequila, one farmer near the town of Amatitan said he had been forced to use young plants to compensate for the shortage of fully grown agave, which take seven to eight years to reach maturity. He asked not to be identified because he did not want…

Peru’s trade minister defended China as a good trade partner on Tuesday, after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Latin American countries against excessive reliance on economic ties with the Asian powerhouse. Eduardo Ferreyros said Peru’s 2010 trade liberalization deal with China had allowed the Andean nation of about 30 million people to post a $2.74 billion trade surplus with Beijing last year. “China is a good trade partner,” Ferreyros told foreign media, as Tillerson met with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Lima, a stop on Tillerson’s five-nation Latin American tour. “We're happy with the results of the trade agreement.” The remarks were the Peruvian government’s first signal since Tillerson’s warning that it does not share Washington’s concerns about growing Chinese influence in the region. Before kicking off his…

U.S. stock prices fluctuated wildly Tuesday after regaining ground following a sharply lower open on the heels of selloffs earlier in the day in Asia and Europe. The volatility continued unabated one day after The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed the most points in one day in its more than 120-year history. The Dow fell 530 points at the market open and the more broad-based Standard & Poors 500 Index (S&P 500) tumbled 1.3 percent. The technology heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent. Earlier Tuesday, Asia's benchmark stock indexes collapsed, as Monday's massive selloffs on Wall Street rolled across the globe. Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost as much seven percent of its value at one point during the trading session, before closing at 21,610 points, a loss of nearly…

China's decision last month to ban the import of certain types of waste and crack down on "foreign garbage" has had a ripple effect worldwide, forcing countries to quickly rethink their waste strategies. That includes China, where its own fight against recycled waste has only just begun, analysts say. Prior to the ban, China was the final resting place for about half of the globe's metal, plastic and paper recyclables. But in an effort to protect the environment and public health, Chinese authorities have banned the import of 24 categories of solid waste, sending shock waves through the international waste processing industry. In the wake of the ban, most developed countries including Britain, the United States and Australia are grappling with a growing mountain of unprocessed rubbish and trying to…

The U.S. trade deficit hit the highest level in nine years in 2017, defying President Donald Trump's efforts to bring more balance to America's trade relationships.   The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the trade gap in goods and services rose to $566 billion last year, the highest level since $708.7 billion in 2008. Imports set a record $2.9 trillion, swamping exports of $2.3 trillion.   The U.S. ran an $810 billion deficit in the trade of goods and a $244 billion surplus in services such as banking and education.   The goods deficit with China hit a record $375.2 billion in 2017, and the goods gap with Mexico rose to $71.1 billion. Trump has sought to reduce the deficits with China and Mexico. His administration is weighing whether to…