Author: Busman

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…

The United States and China blamed each other for the crisis in the world trading system during a two-day "trade policy review" of the United States at the World Trade Organization. The Chinese representative to the WTO, Hu Yingzhi, accused the United States of deforming…

Poland has signed a long-term deal with a U.S. company for supplies of liquefied natural gas as part of an effort to reduce its dependence on Russian energy, the two sides announced on Wednesday. Port Arthur LNG, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, and…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…