Category: Business

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that his administration might  allow the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol year-round, which could help farmers by firing up corn demand but faces opposition from oil companies. The proposal marked the latest move by the Trump administration to navigate the rival oil…

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered his top economic and trade advisers to look into rejoining the Pacific Rim trade pact that he abandoned last year three days after taking power. Farm-state lawmakers said after a White House meeting on agricultural trade that Trump told…

The World Trade Organization predicts continued trade growth this year, though it warns that tensions and "tit-for-tat" retaliatory measures, notably between the U.S. and China, could compromise those projections. WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo laid out the trade body's predictions at a news conference Thursday amid…

Thousands of megawatts of wind and solar energy contracts in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia have been signed, seriously challenging the financial viability of major hydropower projects on the river, an energy expert told a water conference last week. Buoyed by a recent Thai…

The increasing trade tensions between the United States and China has rattled farmers in the American heartland, the place where many of the products on which China seeks to impose a tariff are produced.  As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, those farmers, once supportive of President…

The head of the International Monetary Fund is warning that the global trading system is in danger of being "torn apart."   In a speech prepared for delivery in Hong Kong Wednesday, Christine Lagarde urged nations to "steer clear of protectionism."  That may be a…

Future Russian gas transit flows through Ukraine to Europe may be between 10 and 15 billion cubic metres per year, Alexei Miller, head of Russian gas giant Gazprom, said on Tuesday, which is a significant decline from current levels. Miller issued his comments after German…

Tuesday, April 10, is Equal Pay Day in the United States. Advocates designated the day to mark how much longer women must work, on average, to earn as much as men averaged in the previous year.  Germany recognized Equal Pay Day on March 10. The…

China’s President Xi Jinping did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name or speak directly about rising trade frictions with Washington during a closely watched speech at the Boao Forum — China’s version of Davos for Asia. But the pledges Xi made to press…

Brazil's government has been told that development projects, including hydropower dams, in protected areas can no longer go ahead without the prior approval of lawmakers. Last week's ruling by the supreme court followed the use by the government in recent years of the controversial "provisional…

Afghanistan is set to exploit its unique agricultural climate by refining and exporting another kind of flower, orange blossoms! An Afghan investor found a way to extract the citrusy, floral bouquet from the delicate flowers to create perfumes. As VOA's Zabihullah Ghazi reports in Jalalabad,…

U.S. President Donald Trump predicted Sunday there would be a resolution of the U.S.-China standoff on tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods the world's two biggest economies are threatening to impose on each other. The U.S. leader said, without offering any direct…

Taiwan says it regrets that the "one China" policy insisted on by Beijing prevents it from providing much needed development aid to most countries in Africa. Taiwan was in a relatively good diplomatic position in Africa several years ago. Taiwan’s Deputy Secretary-General for International Cooperation…

The U.N. secretary-general and the Singaporean foreign minister voiced concerns about global trade tensions and rising protectionism during back-to-back meetings in Beijing on Sunday. Following remarks from his Chinese counterpart, Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan vowed to "double-down'' on free trade and economic liberalization in…

Some 30 percent of Air France flights were cancelled Saturday as strikes over pay rises appear to be intensifying. And that's just part of France's travel troubles this month. Most French trains will screech to a halt as a strike over President Emmanuel Macron's economic…

Following the success of West Virginia teachers in securing a pay raise, educators in Oklahoma and Kentucky are walking out of their classrooms, demanding that lawmakers increase education spending in their states. Arizona teachers may soon follow suit. From Washington, VOA's Jill Craig has more.…

Federal law enforcement authorities are in the process of seizing Backpage.com and its affiliated websites. A notice that appeared Friday afternoon at Backpage.com says the websites are being seized as part of an enforcement action by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal…

The Trump administration is considering ways to require imported automobiles to meet stricter environmental standards in order to protect U.S. carmakers, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Responding to the story, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said President Donald Trump "will promote free, fair…

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration said Friday that the United States was not engaged in a trade war with China, even as Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing warned it was willing to…

U.S. stocks plunged again Friday over increasing concerns about a trade war between the United States and China. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 572 points by the close, shedding 2.3 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped nearly 2.2 percent, while the NASDAQ fell nearly…

Did March provide another month of blowout hiring? Was pay growth healthy? When the government issues its monthly jobs report Friday, those two questions will be the most closely watched barometers. Economists have forecast that employers added a solid 185,000 jobs in March and that…

The Trump administration says China is responsible for a trade war with the United States because of its long-term unfair practices. A senior White House economic adviser said Thursday no measures have been enacted, but the situation cannot continue. U.S. President Donald Trump said the…

Venezuela said on Thursday it was halting commercial relations with Panamanian officials and companies, including regional airline Copa, for alleged involvement in money laundering, prompting Panama to recall its ambassador. The resolution names Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and nearly two dozen Cabinet ministers and…

The trade dispute rumbling between China and the U.S. has raised the possibility consumers in Beijing may end up paying higher prices for American beef, liquor and tobacco if Beijing goes ahead with hikes on tariffs for such products. Below are thoughts shared with The…

President Donald Trump said Wednesday the United States is not in a trade war with China, after Beijing announced plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods in response to a similar package announced by the United States. In a Twitter post…

Wall Street's three major indexes staged a comeback to close around 1 percent higher Wednesday as investors turned their focus to earnings and away from a trade conflict between the United States and China that wreaked havoc in earlier trading. After investors fled equities in the morning because…

A jury has awarded nearly $17 million to a former Ford engineer who sued the automaker for discrimination because he says two supervisors repeatedly berated and criticized him for his Arab background and accent. The Detroit Free Press reports that a federal jury in Michigan…

The possible closure of a major coastal tourism magnet in the Philippines for environmental cleanup will hurt business, but for a cause that helps everyone longer term, experts say. President Rodrigo Duterte said via the presidential website in March he would place Boracay Island under…