Category: Business

U.S. President Donald Trump has instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more in Chinese products, despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's attempts to restart talks with China about resolving the trade war, Bloomberg reported on Friday. Reuters could not immediately verify the…

The Turkish central bank caught international markets by surprise Thursday as it aggressively hiked interest rates in an effort to strengthen consumer confidence, stem inflation and rein in the currency crisis.  Interest rates were increased to 24 percent from 17.75 percent, which is more than…

Cuba’s street vendors are bringing back the pregon, the art of singing humorous, rhyming ditties with double entendres about the goods they are selling, with some modernizing the tradition by setting their tunes to reggaeton. The pregon is a centuries-old tradition that has inspired famous…

Even before U.S.-China trade tensions began escalating dramatically, foreign businesses who operate in China were warning about the impact tariffs could have. And now, according to a newly released joint survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in China and AmCham Shanghai, many are already…

A new report by Transparency International suggests foreign bribery is alive and well.  The report, by the Berlin-based, anti-corruption watchdog, suggests little has changed in recent years in the way governments enforce their anti-bribery laws. Today, only seven major exporting countries actively crack down on…

Labor unions and social groups blocked streets in downtown Buenos Aires on Wednesday, with more marches planned over the days ahead over   austerity measures proposed by the government and backed by the International Monetary Fund. Protesters are angry about the belt-tightening policies, which are cutting…

The median U.S. household income reached $61,372 last year — its highest level ever, the U.S. Census reported Wednesday. The new median figure, meaning that half of U.S. families earned more money and half less, was a reflection of the robust U.S. economy, the world's…

South Korea's unemployment rate hit an eight-year high in August as mandatory minimum wages rose, adding to economic policy frustrations and political challenges for President Moon Jae-in whose approval rating is now at its lowest since inauguration. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent in…

In Iraq, a major Middle East grain buyer, will cut the irrigated area it plants with wheat by half in the 2018-2019 growing season as water shortages grip the country, a government official told Reuters. Drought and dwindling river flows have already forced Iraq to…

Residents in a Bangkok neighborhood are trying out a renewable energy trading platform that allows them to buy and sell electricity between themselves, signaling the growing popularity of such systems as solar panels get cheaper. The pilot project in the center of Thailand's capital is…

Policymakers in Indonesia are grappling to deal with a weakened currency, the rupiah, which was valued at just 14,930 per U.S. dollar last week — its lowest point since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. But unlike 20 years ago, when economic turmoil led to major…

United States is a land of opportunity. We have all heard this saying, but what does it mean and how does it happen? A Kurdish-American family in the state of Virginia is seeing how their 13-year-old son has made the most of a unique opportunity.…

Japan will once again try to get the international ban on whale hunting overturned at the global conference of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which opened in Brazil on Monday. The proposal presented by Japan says, "Science is clear: there are certain species of whales…

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry met with Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih on Monday in Washington, the U.S. Energy Department said, as the Trump administration encourages big oil-producing countries to keep output high ahead of Washington’s renewed sanctions on Iran’s crude exports. Perry and Falih…

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal. Freeland spokesman Adam Austen did…

Greece's lead creditor warned the country on Monday not to stray from reforms agreed upon before the end of its international bailout, as European monitors arrived to check the nation's finances. The five-day inspection is expected to focus on government promises over the weekend to…

Ford says it has no plans to move production of a small car from China to the United States despite President Donald Trump's enthusiastic tweet Sunday. "It would not be profitable to the build the Focus Active in the U.S. given an expected annual sales…

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday unveiled plans for tax cuts and pledged spending to heal years of painful austerity, less than a month after Greece emerged from a bailout program financed by its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Tsipras, who faces elections in about…

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday the United States and Japan have begun discussion over trade, saying that Tokyo "knows it's a big problem" if an agreement cannot be reached, and that India has also asked to start talks on a trade deal. "We're…

China's trade surplus with the United States reached a record $31 billion in August, despite hefty tariffs recently imposed on Chinese goods.  The news of the surplus came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose another $267 billion worth of tariffs on…

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on another $267 billion worth Chinese imports, which would cover virtually all the goods China imports to the United States. The potential tariffs would come on top of punitive levies on $50 billion in Chinese goods…

Millions of people covered under the Affordable Care Act will see only modest premium increases next year, and some will get price cuts. That's the conclusion from an exclusive analysis of the besieged but resilient program, which still sparks deep divisions heading into this year's…

Hiring picked up in August as U.S. employers added a strong 201,000 jobs, a sign of confidence that consumers and businesses will keep spending despite the Trump administration's conflicts with U.S. trading partners. The Labor Department said Friday the unemployment rate remained 3.9 percent, near…

Britain risks huge disruptions to its economy and society, including trade, transport, health care and citizens' rights, if it leaves the European Union next March without a deal. That's the conclusion of a new report on the short-term risks of a so-called 'no-deal Brexit.' The…

She is many things that would seem to irritate President Donald Trump: a liberal Canadian former journalist. That makes Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland an unusual choice to lead Canada's negotiations over a new free trade deal with a surprisingly hostile U.S. administration. Recruited into politics…

Trump administration officials and Canadian negotiators are resuming talks to try to keep Canada in a North American trade bloc with the United States and Mexico. "We are looking forward to constructive conversations today," Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters as she entered…

An international money transfer company has launched an online service for East Africans to send and receive money more easily. Analysts say WorldRemit will lower the cost of transferring money and boost African trade and economies. Africa has become a thriving market for money transfer…

First it was Argentina, quickly followed by Turkey. Now anxious investors and policy-makers are watching with alarm the plummeting currencies of several emerging-market economies, most of which have borrowed heavily in dollars. The nosediving currencies are prompting fears of a repeat of the 1997 Asian…