Month: December 2018

Japan is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission and will resume commercial whaling next year, a government spokesman said Wednesday, in a move expected to spark international criticism. "We have decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in order to resume commercial whaling in…

Former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly was released from jail in Japan Tuesday after a Tokyo court rejected prosecutors' request to continue to detain him. The Tokyo District Court granted his release after setting bail at $636,000. Kelly had been detained for 37 days…

Shares on Japan's key stock exchange plummeted Tuesday, highlighting investor fears about political turmoil in Washington and this month's massive losses on Wall Street. The Nikkei 225 Index lost 1,000 points -- five percent of its value --to close Tuesday at 19,155, finishing under 20,000…

U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Monday with the S&P 500 down more than two percent and the Dow off nearly three percent. President Donald Trump is blaming the Federal Reserve (central bank) for stock market declines and other economic problems. In tweets, Trump has…

The leading pan-European stock exchange has launched a 625 million euro takeover bid to acquire the Oslo Stock Exchange. Euronext, the operator of stock exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin and Lisbon, said in a statement that it had approached the board of directors of…

South Korea said Monday it will fine BMW $9.9 million and will file a criminal complaint against the German automaker for delaying a recall of cars with faulty engines that caught fire.  South Korea's transport ministry said its investigation uncovered that BMW knew about the…

U.S. President Donald Trump's Treasury secretary called top U.S. bankers on Sunday amid an ongoing rout on Wall Street and made plans to convene a group of officials known as the "Plunge Protection Team.” U.S. stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks on concerns over…

A White House official says tension between a president and the interest-rate setting Federal Reserve is "traditional as part of our system.'' Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says it should come as no surprise that President Donald Trump is unhappy the central bank, an independent…

China and the United States held a vice ministerial-level call on Friday, the second such contact in a week, achieving a "deep exchange of views" on trade imbalances and the protection of intellectual property, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said. A statement posted on the…

In 2018, sitting leaders relinquished power in South Africa and Ethiopia. Zimbabwe elected a new leader after 37 years of rule by former President Robert Mugabe. Peaceful power transitions were also seen in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali. But while many find those trends encouraging,…

Now in its 10th year, America's economic expansion still looks sturdy. Yet the partial shutdown of the government that began Saturday has added another threat to a growing list of risks.    The stock market's persistent fall, growing chaos in the Trump administration, higher interest…

U.S. President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, Bloomberg reported Saturday. Citing four people familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg reported Trump has become more frustrated with Powell after months of stock market losses and the central bank's interest rate hike on…

After almost 10 years, Wall Street's rally looks like it's ending.  Another day of big losses Friday left the U.S. market with its worst week in more than seven years. All of the major indexes have lost 16 to 26 percent from their highs this summer and…

The Canadian economy expanded by a greater-than-expected 0.3 percent in October from September, pushed higher by strength in manufacturing, finance and insurance, Statistics Canada data indicated Friday. Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted monthly GDP would increase by 0.2 percent. Fifteen of the 20…

Plans to build another privately-financed power station in Nigeria to help end decades of chronic blackouts have been delayed because of concerns about persistent shortfalls in payments for electricity across the sector. The $1.1 billion Qua Iboe Power Plant being developed by energy infrastructure company…

It was another miserable day on Wall Street as a series of big December plunges continued, putting stocks on track for their worst month in a decade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 464 points Thursday, bringing its losses to more than 1,700 points since…

The U.S.-China trade war is spooking potential investors in soybean crushing plants planned for Wisconsin and New York state, developers said, casting doubt on the future of a sector that had been a rare bright spot in the U.S. farm economy. Crushers in the United…

A state of emergency has been declared in two eastern Sudan states after at least eight protesters were killed in mass demonstrations against rising prices. Thousands of protesters marched in cities and towns across Sudan Thursday, angry over widespread corruption and the rising costs of…

The independent U.S. central bank raised borrowing rates Wednesday for the fourth time this year, dismissing President Donald Trump's contention that policymakers ought not tinker with the country's robust economy, the world's largest.    The Federal Reserve board voted 10-0 after a two-day meeting to increase…