Year: 2018

Amazon says it will split its long-awaited second headquarters between New York City and and Crystal City, part of Arlington, Virginia, as well as open a new facility in Nashville, Tennessee. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class talent that will help us to continue inventing for customers for years to come,” CEO and founder Jeff Bezos said Tuesday in an official press release. The new headquarters will split the 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in local investments Amazon promised while taking bids from cities across the country, while adding 5,000 more for its new "Operations Center of Excellence" in Nashville.  In return, Amazon will receive incentives of about $1.5 billion from New York City and $573 million from Arlington. The announcement marks the end of a year-long…

A recent proliferation of craft gins and new distilleries has taken over South Africa’s bar scene. But this is not your average gin, distillers say: South African gin is infused with unique local flavors -- like fynbos, rooibos, marula, sceletium and other distinctive South African botanicals -- that they feel will take the world's taste buds by storm. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Gin Town, AKA Johannesburg. ...

This is part of "Ocean Shock," a Reuters series exploring climate change's impact on sea creatures and the people who depend on them. Takashi Odajima picked up a cracked and faded photograph and dusted it off with his sleeve. He smiled a little sadly at the image from long ago, back when he was a baby boy. In the photo, he sits on his uncle's lap as his family poses at a nearby dock, squid heaped in the background. In another, his uncle dries rows of squid, carefully folded like shirts over a clothesline on the roof of their house. Odajima's family has lived for generations in Hakodate, on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. It's a city steeped in squid, a place where restaurants outside the local fish market advertise…

A broad sell-off in technology companies pulled U.S. stocks sharply lower Monday, knocking more than 600 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average.   The wave of selling snared big names, including Apple, Amazon and Goldman Sachs. Banks, consumer-focused companies, and media and communications stocks all took heavy losses. Crude oil prices fell, erasing early gains and extending a losing streak to 11 days.   The tech stock tumble came followed an analyst report that suggested Apple significantly cut back orders from one of its suppliers. That, in turn, weighed on chipmakers.   "With the news out of the Apple supplier this morning, you have the market overall questioning the growth trajectory as we look out to 2019," said Lindsey Bell, investment strategist at CFRA. "We continue to like tech…

Brazil's Congress is unlikely to pass pension reform legislation this year, far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday, a blow to investor hopes that caused the country's currency to weaken in futures markets. Investors snapped up Brazilian assets in the wake of Bolsonaro's election victory last month, cheered by his party's stronger-than-expected showing in congressional races, which raised hopes he could make quick advances on fiscal reforms. Many economists say cuts to Brazil's social security system are essential to controlling a huge federal deficit and regaining Brazil's investment-grade rating. Last week, Bolsonaro said he would like to see some form of pension reform passed this year to make it easier to deal with the deficit after he takes office on Jan. 1. On Monday, however, he told reporters in Rio…

OPEC and allied oil-producing countries will likely need to cut crude supplies, perhaps by as much as 1 million barrels of oil a day, to rebalance the market after U.S. sanctions on Iran failed to cut Tehran's output, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said Monday. The comments from the minister, Khalid al-Falih, show the balancing act the U.S. allies face in dealing with President Donald Trump's actions related to the oil industry. Trump in recent weeks demanded the oil cartel increase production to drive down U.S. gasoline prices. "Hopefully, Saudi Arabia and OPEC will not be cutting oil production. Oil prices should be much lower based on supply!" he tweeted Monday. The U.S. has meanwhile allowed some of its allies — Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey —…

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Monday for a new public works spending program to stimulate the economy amid growing concerns about global risks.  The spending, which is expected in the first half of next fiscal year starting in April, will focus on strengthening infrastructure to withstand earthquakes and frequent flooding, according to a presentation made at the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP).  Some of Japan's top government advisers also called for stimulus to offset a decline in consumption expected after an increase in the nationwide sales tax in October next year.  The rush to approve public works spending and other measures to support consumption highlights growing concern among policymakers about the economy.  "The prime minister asked me to take firm measures to ensure that our economic recovery continues," Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said…

A majority of OPEC and allied oil exporters support a cut in the global supply of crude, Oman Oil Minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhi said on Sunday. “Many of us share this view,” the minister said when asked about the need for a cut. Asked if it could amount to 500,000 or one million barrels per day, he replied: “I think it is unfair for me to throw numbers now.” He was speaking in Abu Dhabi where an oil market monitoring committee was held on Sunday, attended by top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia. "We need a consensus," he said, indicating that non-OPEC Russia would need to approve any decision. Oman is also not a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Saudi Arabia is discussing a proposal…

The Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service will be disconnecting some Iranian banks this weekend, said SWIFT chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt at an event in Paris on Friday. Earlier this week, SWIFT had already stated that it would be suspending some unspecified Iranian banks’ access to its messaging system in the interest of the stability and integrity of the global financial system. In a brief statement issued earlier this week, SWIFT had made no mention of U.S. sanctions coming back into effect on some Iranian financial institutions on Monday, as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to force Iran to curtail its nuclear, missile and regional activities. SWIFT’s statement on Nov. 5 said that suspending the Iranian banks access to the messaging system was a “regrettable” step but was “taken…

India-based motorcycle brand Royal Enfield expects sales in its new North American business to almost triple this year and is aiming to dominate the market for middleweight bikes into which Harley-Davidson Inc has just shifted in a bid to revive sales. Enfield, originally a classic UK brand but manufactured by India's Eicher Motors Ltd in southern India since the early 1970s, has thwarted Harley's efforts to make inroads in India, the world's biggest two-wheeler market with some 17 million in sales annually. Both companies are dwarfed in the lightweight categories by India's Hero Motor Corp, Japan's Honda and Bajaj Auto , and so far Enfield's presence outside India in the more specialized market in medium-sized and large cruisers has been minimal. Its arrival in North America three years ago signaled…

Vietnam’s new carrier Bamboo Airways expects to finally get an aviation license next week and start flying within weeks, the chairman of its parent firm said on Thursday. The airline had to delay its maiden flight on Oct. 10 because it didn’t receive a license in time. “Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the proposal from the Ministry of Transport to issue the license to the airline,” Trinh Van Quyet, chairman of FLC Group, told Reuters by phone. “We will launch our first flight within 45 days after receiving the license,” Quyet said. “Receiving the license would allow Bamboo to start services.” Bamboo Airways would be Vietnam’s fifth airline after Vietnam Airlines, budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines, budget carrier Vietjet Aviation and Vietnam Air Services Co. Bamboo Airways signed…

Tesla said Thursday that its new board chair replacing Elon Musk will be Robyn Denholm of Australia’s Telstra.   The appointment to the full-time position takes effect immediately though Denholm will leave Telstra, Australia’s biggest telecoms company, after a six-month notice period. Denholm already is on Tesla’s board.   Musk agreed to vacate his post as board chairman as part of a settlement with U.S. regulators of a lawsuit alleging he duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company.   The settlement in late September with the Securities and Exchange Commission allowed Musk to remain CEO of Tesla but required him to relinquish his role as chairman for at least three years.   Apart from appointing a new chairman, Tesla was required to appoint two new…

Stocks rallied Wednesday as investors were relieved to see that the U.S. midterm elections went largely as they expected they would. Big-name technology and consumer and health care companies soared as the S&P 500 index closed at its highest level in four weeks. Democrats won control of the House of Representatives while Republicans kept a majority in the Senate, as most polls had suggested. It's not clear how the divided Congress will work with Republican President Donald Trump, but if the possibilities for compromise and big agenda items seem limited, Wall Street is fine with that because it means politics is that much less likely to crowd out the performance of the strong U.S. economy. "The market likes when what it expects to happen happens," said JJ Kinahan, chief markets…

Global stocks were higher Wednesday after the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections met investors' expectations. Despite Democratic gains in the U.S. House of Representatives, few anticipate reversals of President Donald Trump's tax cuts and the elimination of federal regulations. Democrats captured more than the 23 seats needed to regain control of the House and Republicans extended their lead in the Senate. Europe's FTSE 100 Index moved 1 percent higher, to 7,117, and Asia's Hang Seng Index climbed more than 3 percent, to 2,6147. In afternoon trading in the U.S., the Standard and Poor's 500 Index was nearly 1.5 percent higher, at 2,795, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 1.5 percent, to 2,629, and the NASDAQ 100 Index jumped more than 2.3 percent, to 7,150. ...

The Chinese government granted 18 trademarks to companies linked to President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump over the last two months, Chinese public records show, raising concerns about conflicts of interest in the White House. In October, China's Trademark Office granted provisional approval for 16 trademarks to Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, bringing to 34 the total number of marks China has greenlighted this year, according to the office's online database. The new approvals cover Ivanka-branded fashion gear including sunglasses, handbags, shoes and jewelry, as well as beauty services and voting machines.   The approvals came three months after Ivanka Trump announced she was dissolving her namesake brand to focus on government work.   China also granted provisional approval for two "Trump" trademarks to DTTM Operations LLC, headquartered at…