Author: Busman

The White House and Congress appeared headed toward agreement Wednesday on a stopgap spending plan to avert a partial government shutdown at midnight Friday, but it does not include the $5 billion President Donald Trump wanted for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would vote later in the day on the measure funding operations for a quarter of the U.S. government until Feb. 8, when Trump and lawmakers could again face the possibility of a partial closure. Democratic leader Charles Schumer said Democrats would support the temporary spending plan, with the remainder of the U.S. government already funded through the end of next September. Trump made a pledge during his 2016 campaign to build a border wall to thwart illegal…

Every Brazilian, including current and former members of the armed forces, will have to compromise under the next administration's pension reform plan, a former general set to become government minister said in an interview. Retired General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz told Reuters in Brasilia last week that it was "inadmissible" in today's world for some Brazilians employed in the public sector to retire in their 40s or 50s. On December 4, right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said he planned to tackle the overhaul of Brazil's fiscally burdensome pension system with piecemeal reforms that can pass Congress, starting with an increase in the minimum age of retirement. 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. "There are…

Greek lawmakers approved the heavily indebted country's budget for 2019 late Tuesday, the first since Greece exited an eight-year bailout program. The budget lawmakers passed with a 154-143 vote still is heavy on austerity measures to ensure Greece registers a hefty surplus, in compliance with its debt relief deal with international creditors. Earlier Tuesday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said the proposed budget was Greece's first in 10 years to be drafted "under circumstances of relative financial and political freedom" from bailout creditors. "Today we have the opportunity to vote for a budget that now reflects the priorities of the Greek government, and not of [its] supervising institutions," he said during a parliamentary debate. As the debate drew to a close, more than 2,000 people demonstrated peacefully outside parliament in two…

The finance committee of Mexico’s lower house of Congress on Tuesday rapidly approved the revenue section of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s 2019 draft budget, auguring speedy passage in the legislature his party controls. Lopez Obrador’s leftist government only unveiled the budget proposal on Saturday night. It met with a positive initial response from financial markets, with investors warming to his commitment to keep a lid on spending. The president’s National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies dominate Congress, having won the first outright majority in more than two decades. Having been approved by the finance committee without changes, the revenue section is expected to go to the floor of the lower house on Tuesday afternoon. Once approved, the revenue budget proposal moves to the Senate. The budget is a…

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for the implementation of reforms but offered no new specific measures in a highly anticipated speech that marked the 40th anniversary of China's move towards market liberalization. In a speech lasting nearly an hour-and-a-half, Xi called for support of the state economy while also guiding the development of the private sector, and said China will expand efforts at opening up and ensure the implementation of major reforms. "We must, unswervingly, reinforce the development of the state economy while, unswervingly, encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-state economy," Xi said during a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Xi was speaking on the day China marked as the 40th anniversary of the start of late leader Deng Xiaoping's campaign of…

China hopes Britain's exit from the European Union can happen in an orderly way and that the bloc will reduce hurdles to Chinese investment and keep its markets open, China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday. China, the world's second-largest economy, has watched Brexit nervously, worried not only about potential market turmoil from a disorderly departure but about losing Britain's supportive voice for free trade within the EU. "China hopes to see Brexit proceed in an orderly fashion and stands ready to advance China-EU and China-UK relations in parallel," the ministry said in a lengthy policy document on EU ties. The EU and China are often at loggerheads over trade and other issues, with the EU sharing many of the same concerns as the United States about market access, trade imbalances…

Mexico's wage commission said on Monday it planned to hike the country's minimum wage by 16 percent to around $5 per day and leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pledged further increases to keep salaries apace with inflation. The salary commission, made up of government, business and labor representatives, said the daily minimum wage would rise to 102.68 pesos from 88.36 pesos on Jan. 1, the biggest such hike since 1996. "During many years the minimum wage has lost its purchasing power. Some say it has lost 70 percent of its purchasing power over the last 30 years," said Lopez Obrador. "We're never going to have wage (increases) below inflation," said Lopez Obrador, who took office on Dec. 1. Low wages have helped to attract foreign companies to Mexico and…

Nissan's board met Monday but failed to pick a new chairman to replace Carlos Ghosn, who was arrested last month on charges of violating financial regulations, saying more discussion was needed.   Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa told reporters that the board approved a special committee of outsiders to strengthen governance at the company. A date for the selection of a chairman was not decided.   "We plan to be cautious in this process, and I do not plan to rush this," Saikawa said.   The recommendations for beefing up governance are due in March, and Saikawa said he was willing to wait until then to choose a chairman.   The board meeting came amid an unfolding scandal that threatens the Japanese automaker's two-decade alliance with Renault SA…

The United States said on Monday that China's "unfair competitive practices" were harming foreign companies and workers in a way that violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, but vowed to lead reform efforts. U.S. trade ambassador Dennis Shea drew fire from Chinese envoy Zhang Xiangchen who said the Trump administration's tariffs on steel and aluminum products allowed protectionism under the guise of dubious national security concerns. The heated words, in texts seen by Reuters, were exchanged at the start of a closed-door review of U.S. trade policies, held every two years at the WTO, which continues on Wednesday. Shea expressed concern about the WTO dispute settlement system having "strayed far from the system agreed to by members" and said that the Appellate Body had overreached in some legal interpretations. Zhang…

A group of young female business owners in Guinea Bissau have banded together to learn more about the business world and increase sales. A year later, their efforts appear to be paying off. Ricci Shryock reports from the west African nation. ...

Homeowners appear to have learned the lesson of the Great Recession about not taking on too much debt. There is some concern that Corporate America didn't get the message.   For much of the past decade, companies have borrowed at super-low interest rates and used the money to buy back stock, acquire other businesses and refinance old debt. The vast majority of companies are paying their bills on time, thanks in large part to profits that have surged since the economy emerged from the Great Recession nine and a half years ago.   But with interest rates rising and U.S. economic growth expected to slow next year, worries are building from Washington to Wall Street that corporate debt is approaching potentially dangerous levels. U.S. corporate debt has grown by nearly…

After two weeks of bruising negotiations, officials from almost 200 countries agreed Saturday on universal, transparent rules that will govern efforts to cut emissions and curb global warming. Fierce disagreements on two other climate issues were kicked down the road for a year to help bridge a chasm of opinions on the best solutions.    The deal agreed upon at U.N. climate talks in Poland enables countries to put into action the principles in the 2015 Paris climate accord.   "Through this package, you have made a thousand little steps forward together,'' said Michal Kurtyka, a senior Polish official chairing the talks.    He said while each individual country would likely find some parts of the agreement it didn't like, efforts had been made to balance the interests of all…

Stocks staggered to eight-month lows Friday after weak economic data from China and Europe set off more worries about the global economy. Mounting tensions in Europe over Britain's impeding departure from the European Union also darkened traders' moods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 563 points. On the benchmark S&P 500 index, health care and technology companies absorbed the worst losses. Johnson & Johnson plunged by the most in 16 years after Reuters reported that the company has known since the 1970s that its talc Baby Powder sometimes contained carcinogenic asbestos. The company denied the report. China said industrial output and retail sales both slowed in November. That could be another sign that China's trade dispute with the U.S. and tighter lending conditions are chilling its economy, which…

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said the country's economy was in "bad shape," the governor of a northwestern state told reporters Friday after a meeting with governors from across the country.  Buhari will seek a second term in an election to be held in February in which the economy is likely to be a campaign issue.  Africa's top oil producer last year emerged from its first recession in 25 years, caused by low crude prices, but growth remains sluggish.  "Mr. President, as usual, responded by telling us that the economy is in a bad shape and we have to come together and think and rethink on the way forward," Abdulaziz Yari, who chairs the Nigeria Governors' Forum, told reporters when asked how Buhari answered requests for a bailout to some states.  "Mr. President talked to us in the manner that we have a task ahead…

The federal budget deficit surged to a record for the month of November of $204.9 billion, but a big part of the increase reflected a calendar quirk.    In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Thursday that the deficit for November was $66.4 billion higher than the imbalance in November 2017.    But $44 billion of that figure reflected the fact that December benefits in many government entitlement programs were paid in November this year because Dec. 1 fell on a Saturday.    For the first two months of this budget year, the deficit totals $305.4 billion, up 51.4 percent from the same period last year. The Trump administration is projecting that this year's deficit will top $1 trillion, reflecting increased government spending and the loss of revenue…

A gauge of world equities was little changed after giving up early gains on Thursday, continuing a pattern seen for the past several sessions, while the euro eased after the European Central Bank formally ended its bond purchasing scheme. In the United States, the S&P and Nasdaq finished in the red while the Dow closed well off its session highs as cautious trade optimism faded. Nervousness has heightened volatility in stocks recently, with a tendency for stocks to lose morning gains as the day wears on.  In Beijing, a commerce ministry spokesman said China and the United States were in close contact over trade, and any U.S. trade delegation would be welcome to visit.   Although signs of a trade thaw have been welcomed by investors, other worries have kept…

Wall Street stocks finished higher on Wednesday due to improved hopes for the US-China trade talks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.6 percent at 24,527.27. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.5 percent to 2,651.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.0 percent to 7,098.31. Wall Street stocks have been volatile in recent weeks in part due to unpredictable and ambiguous events connected to the Beijing-Washington trade negotiations. The latest indicators have been more upbeat, with a Chinese Huawei executive granted bail in a Canadian court in a closely-watched legal case and confirmation from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a television interview that Beijing had offered to cut tariffs on autos imported from the United States and resume soybean purchases. Unlike the last two sessions, there were no major…

Wood consumption — including logging and the production of charcoal — is a leading cause of forest degradation in Africa. In some of Kenya's coastal regions, recurring droughts have made the problem even worse.  Now, farmers in those regions are planting trees, putting their once-barren land to use in a venture that enables them to earn a living and conserve the environment at the same time.  At Be Sulubu Tezo, in Kilifi county, Kenya, Kanze Kahindi Mbogo tends to her tree farm. She thins out the trees whose wood is now strong enough for her to sell for home-building and making fences.   The money she makes is for her six children.  A better life Kahindi says she has been able to educate her children, pay a couple of debts and do…

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was charged Wednesday with tampering with the final audit report into a defunct state investment fund, adding to a long list of corruption allegations against him since his ouster in May elections. Najib was charged along with Arul Kanda Kandasamy, the former head of the 1MDB fund, which is being investigated in the U.S. and other countries for alleged cross-border embezzlement and money laundering. Najib pleaded not guilty to abusing power to order the modification of the report in February 2016 before it was presented to the Public Accounts Committee, in order to protect himself from disciplinary and legal action. Kandasamy, who was detained overnight by anti-graft officials, pleaded not guilty to abetting Najib. ​The charges came after the auditor-general revealed last month that…

Cash-strapped Avianca Brasil, the country's fourth-largest airline, on Tuesday sought bankruptcy protection from creditors but reassured passengers that flights will continue. "Due to resistance from the lessors (of their aircraft) to reaching a friendly settlement, we have filed seeking protection from creditors, to protect clients and passengers," a company statement said. Operations are not expected to be affected and "passengers can have complete peace of mind to make reservations and buy tickets, since all sales will be honored and flights will be operating," it said. The airline has debts of almost 493 million reais ($127 million) with multiple creditors, the business daily Valor reported. Avianca Brasil, a brand of Oceanair Linhas Aereas SA (Oceanair), is not part of the group Avianca Holdings S.A, based in Colombia. But both are parts…

Mining companies have invested at least $5 billion towards gold exploration in West Africa in the last decade but significant reserves are under-exploited, mineral industry experts said on Tuesday. Delegates at the Ecomof mining and petroleum forum in the Ivory Coast commercial capital Abidjan were told that more must be done to attract international investors to develop mining potential. "Throughout West Africa there are interesting minerals, gold, iron, nickel, manganese among others," said Kadjo Kouame, managing director of Sodemi, the Ivory Coast mining development company. Ivory Coast and Ghana are among the world's top cocoa producers but are now seeking to diversify their economies by mining precious metals and newly discovered reserves of oil. "But there is a real job to do to attract investors and diversify projects, too focused…

EU economics affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici on Tuesday said Brussels will keep close watch over France's new spending plans, a day after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled new measures to quell violent protests. "The European Commission will closely monitor the impact of the announcements made by President Macron on the French deficit and any financing arrangements," Moscovici told AFP. "We are in constant contact with the French authorities," added Moscovici, who was attending a plenary session of European Parliament in Strasbourg. Meeting the EU's three percent deficit limit has been a centrepiece of Macron's European strategy in order to win the trust of powerful Berlin and its backing for EU reforms. Before the "yellow vests" protests, the 2019 public deficit was expected to reach 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP),…

Taiwan is reinforcing its five-year-old ban on network equipment produced by Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp. amid security concerns. Officials sought over the weekend to reassure lawmakers and the public that such measures have been effective and the threat to the communications sector is minimal.   Huawei has established a presence in Taiwan, with its handsets among the top sellers. The company also sponsors a Christmas extravaganza in a Taipei suburb that features a giant Santa emblazoned with Huawei's logo.   While several countries have similar bans in place, the risk for Taiwan is potentially greater since China claims the island as its own territory and threatens to use military force to bring it under its control. Back-doors that some allege Huawei has built into its products could…

Walt Disney Studios is again ending the year on a high note, posting more than $7 billion in global box office earnings, thanks to hits such as "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War." "This is only the second time in history any studio has surpassed the $7 billion mark, after Disney's own industry-record 2016 global gross of $7.6 billion," the company said in a statement on Monday. "The Studios' estimated international box office gross through December 9 is an estimated $4.069 billion, marking our second biggest year and the third biggest in industry history," it added. Disney's success comes as the studio is set to release "Mary Poppins Returns" on December 19, which is expected to top the box office during the holiday season. ​"To date, four of the top…

Environment ministers from nearly 200 countries are arriving in the Polish city of Katowice to join haggling over ways to advance the 2015 Paris accord to curb climate change. National leaders have stayed away from this year’s climate change conference largely because it is devoted to agreeing the details of the implementation of the Paris agreement. But as ever, the devil is in the details. Ahead of the ministerial arrivals, climate activists from around the world marched Saturday in the Polish city to vent their frustration and to urge governments to “wake up” and “make the planet green again.” “It’s time to save our home,” they chanted near the hall hosting the two-week U.N. Climate Change Conference. Meanwhile, 1,500 kilometers away police in Paris battled Yellow Vest protesters mounting their…

General Motors is fighting to retain a valuable tax credit for electric vehicles as the nation's largest automaker contends with the political fallout triggered by its plans to shutter several U.S. factories and shed thousands of workers. Preserving the $7,500 tax incentive for buyers is crucial for GM as the company pivots from internal combustion engines in favor of building cars powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Yet the layoffs and plant closings could imperil GM's push to keep the incentive. It helps make plug-ins such as the $36,000 Chevy Bolt more affordable at a time when competition from other electric vehicle makers is heating up. GM faces opposition from President Donald Trump and other Republicans who consider the credit a waste of taxpayer money and want it eliminated.…

Stocks around the world are falling Monday morning, and U.S. indexes gave up modest early gains and turned lower, hurt by sharp drops for energy and financial companies. The British pound is dropping after the U.K. prime minister postponed a vote on its departure from the European Union, and oil has resumed its sharp slide. Keeping score: The S&P 500 index lost 47 points, or 1.8 percent, to 2,585, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 435 points, or 1.8 percent, to 23,904, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 73, or 1.1 percent, to 6,894. U.S. indexes have been lurching up and down since October, mostly down, and the S&P 500 plunged 4.6 percent last week for its biggest loss in more than eight months, as…

Despite repeated calls by U.S. President Donald Trump for oil production to remain steady, the Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and its allies, announced Friday they would cut their pumping of crude to reduce oil flows onto the global market by 1.2 million barrels of per day, a bigger-than-expected cut.    OPEC officials say there was no political motive behind the decision, arguing an oil glut forced the move and that their decision was spurred by oversupply concerns and forecasts for lower demand next year — as well as a surge of shale oil production in the U.S.  Price slide   Oil economists agree that a reduction is needed to stem a further slide in prices, which fell 30 percent in October, and OPEC's decision…