Category: Business

Democratic Republic of Congo's plan to drill for oil in national parks could leave thousands of farmers and fishermen who rely on the land in a struggle to survive, rights groups said Monday. The central African country announced last month that it was taking steps toward declassifying parts of Virunga and Salonga national parks, both recognized as world heritage sites by the United Nations, to allow for oil exploration. The parks, which together cover an area about the size of Switzerland, are among the world's largest tropical rainforest reserves and home to rare species including forest elephants. Allowing drilling in the parks would cause a loss of biodiversity, release huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and pollute water that thousands of local people use for fishing and farming,…

China's economic growth slowed in the quarter ending in June, adding to challenges for Beijing amid a mounting tariff battle with Washington. The world's second-largest economy expanded by 6.7 percent, down from the previous quarter's 6.8 percent, the government reported Monday. Even before the dispute with Washington erupted, forecasters expected growth to cool after Beijing started tightening controls on bank lending last year to rein in surging debt. Economic activity is expected to decline further as global demand for Chinese exports weakens and lending controls weigh on construction and investment, major contributors to growth. Beijing has responded to previous downturns by flooding the state-dominated economy with credit. But that has swelled debt so high that global rating agencies have cut China's government credit rating. Chinese leaders are in the midst…

U.S. President Donald Trump advised British Prime Minister Theresa May to sue the European Union instead of negotiating with the bloc, as part of her Brexit strategy.   "He told me I should sue the EU," May told BBC television. "Sue the EU. Not go into negotiations — sue them." Her revelation about how Trump advised her ended several days of speculation about what advice the U.S. leader had offered the prime minister. Trump said last week in an interview with The Sun newspaper that he had given May advice, but she did not follow it. The president told the newspaper ahead of his meeting with May that she "didn't listen" to him. "I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she…

Liang Liang is feeling a lot of stress lately. He owns an import wholesale business in Los Angeles. “I have been watching the news every day — when will the tariffs be put in place? When are my goods arriving; it’s a fight against time. I’m trying to order all my products for the rest of the year,” he said. His goods, such as toys and T-shirts, come from China through the largest port complex in the United States, the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. He expects a 10 to 20 percent increase in shipping costs because of the trade war between the United States and China. Shipping costs likely to rise China is the largest trading partner for both ports. As tariffs from both countries increase…

As the Trump administration announces tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese imports, the largest port complex in the United States is bracing for its impact. For the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, China is the largest trader, and what happens at these ports can ripple through the rest of the U.S. economy. VOA's Elizabeth Lee reports. ...

Suspiciously cheap diamonds, jeans for $1 and a pair of skis for next to nothing. It's not a dream, these are actual bargains at a store in a small town in Alabama. What it sells are the contents of lost airline baggage. Every year airline companies lose about 20 million suitcases, and while most of them find their way back to their owners, thousands of bags are never picked up. As Daria Dieguts found out, some of these lost items end up here at the lost baggage store in Alabama. ...

The United States has formally lifted a crippling ban on exports to the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE.  The Commerce Department said Friday that it had removed the ban after ZTE deposited $400 million in a U.S. bank escrow account as part of a settlement reached last month. ZTE has already paid a $1 billion fine that is also part of its settlement with the U.S. government.  "While we lifted the ban on ZTE, the department will remain vigilant as we closely monitor ZTE's actions to ensure compliance with all U.S. laws and regulations," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. He described the terms of the deal as the strictest ever imposed in such a case. The Chinese company is accused of selling sensitive technologies to Iran and North…

The White House released a report Thursday contending that the United States' war on poverty — a drive that started over 50 years ago to improve the social safety net for the poorest citizens of the world's largest economy — is "largely over and a success," contrasting with other reports on the nation's poor. The report, authored by President Donald Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, called for federal aid recipients to be pushed toward work requirements. The report says poverty, when measured by consumption, has fallen by 90 percent since 1961. It also says that only 3 percent of Americans currently live under the poverty line. "The timing is ideal for expanding work requirements among non-disabled working-age adults in social welfare programs," according to the report. "Ultimately, expanded work requirements can…

As farmer Brian Duncan gently brushes his hands over the rolling amber waves of grain in the fields behind his rural Illinois home, this picturesque and idyllic American scene belies the dramatic hardship he currently faces. “We’re in trouble,” he told VOA. Wheat is just one product that grows on Duncan’s diverse farm, also home to about 70,000 hogs annually, which Duncan said “were projected to be profitable this year.” Were, but not anymore. Pork is now subject to a 62 percent Chinese tariff, and demand is drying up in one of the world’s largest pork markets. “Once that tariff went on, the pork stopped going into China. Not going to Taiwan, either. Not finding other routes. That market just disappeared,” said Duncan, who expected to see a $4 to…

U.S. farmers are beginning to feel the effects of tariffs imposed by China in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum. As VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports, while the short-term concern for farmers is the impact on profits this year, the bigger worry is the longer term consequences of the escalating trade dispute. ...

China’s trade surplus with the United States swelled to a record in June as its overall exports grew at a solid pace, a result that could further inflame a bitter trade dispute with Washington. But signs exporters were rushing shipments before tariffs went into effect in the first week of July suggest the spike in the surplus was a one-off, with analysts expecting a less favorable trade balance for China in coming months as duties on exports start to bite. The data came after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump raised the stakes in its trade row with China on Tuesday, saying it would slap 10 percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, including numerous consumer items. US-China trade surplus China’s trade surplus with the…

The Turkish lira recovered some losses Thursday hours after it hit record lows. New Treasury and  Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's son-in-law, sought to reassure nervous markets that the central bank's independence was not in question. The wild currency gyrations following Albayrak's appointment underscore concerns over what economic policy Erdogan will adhere to now that he has consolidated power following his June re-election. The lira approached five to the dollar late Wednesday in a nearly 30 percent depreciation since the beginning of the year. The heavy decline is a result of worries over Erdogan's economic expansion policy. Although growth has soared more than 7 percent, inflation has surpassed 15 percent — a 15-year high — while the current deficit has widened to more than 6 percent of…

U.S. consumer prices barely rose in June, but the underlying trend continued to point to a steady buildup of inflation pressures that could keep the Federal Reserve on a path of gradual interest rate increases. Other data on Thursday showed first-time applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a two-month low last week as the labor market continues to tighten. The Fed raised interest rates in June for a second time this year and has forecast two more rate hikes before the end of 2018. "U.S. inflation continues to drift gradually higher in response to a nearly fully employed economy, with some nudging from tariffs," said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. "The Fed has every reason to pull  the rate trigger again in October." The…

The U.S. is on pace to leapfrog both Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world's biggest oil producer. The latest data released by the Energy Information Administration shows U.S. output growing again next year to 11.8 million barrels a day.   Linda Capuano, who heads the agency, says that would make the U.S. the world's No. 1 producer.   The director of the International Energy Agency, a group of oil-consuming countries, made a similar prediction in February.   Russia and Saudi Arabia pumped more crude than the U.S. last year.   Production is booming in U.S. shale fields because of newer techniques such as fracking and horizontal drilling. ...

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday the country will soon sign up to a $3 trillion African free trade zone. Nigeria is one of Africa's two largest economies, the other being South Africa. Buhari's government had refused to join a continental free-trade zone established in March, on the grounds that it wishes to defend its own businesses and industry. The administration later said it wanted more time to consult business leaders. "In trying to guarantee employment, goods and services in our country, we have to be careful with agreements that will compete, maybe successfully, against our upcoming industries," Buhari told a news conference during a visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. "I am a slow reader, maybe because I was an ex-soldier. I didn't read it fast enough…

In a ceremony last week attended by heads of state from across East Africa, Djibouti inaugurated what it says will become the largest free-trade zone on the continent. The project will take 10 years to complete and will occupy more than 48 square kilometers when finished. In the pilot phase, it will increase the size of Djibouti’s economy by 11 percent, Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed told VOA’s French-to-Africa service. But the $3.5 billion project will also add to what some experts consider to be an extreme reliance on Chinese financing and could raise the small desert nation’s debt to alarming levels. Debt distress Scott Morris is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and the director of the U.S. Development Policy Initiative. He co-wrote a report in…

As the trade war between the world's two largest economies nears the end of its first week, its most unsettling fact may be this: No one seems to foresee any clear path to peace.   The United States insists that China abandon the brass-knuckles tactics it's used to try to supplant America's technological dominance. Yet Beijing isn't about to drop its zeal to acquire the technology it sees as crucial to its prosperity.   Having run for the White House on a vow to force China to reform its trade policies, President Donald Trump won't likely yield to vague promises by Beijing to improve its behavior — or to pledges to buy more American soybeans or liquefied natural gas.   "It certainly feels like we're in for a protracted fight,"…

Uber is getting into the scooter-rental business.   The ride-hailing company said Monday that it is investing in Lime, a startup based in San Mateo, California.   "Our investment and partnership in Lime is another step towards our vision of becoming a one-stop shop for all your transportation needs," Rachel Holt, an Uber vice president, said in a statement.   Uber will add Lime motorized scooters to the Uber mobile app, giving consumers another option for getting around cities, especially to and from public transit systems, Holt said.   Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.   Lime co-founders Toby Sun and Brad Bao wrote in a blog that Uber's "sizable investment" is part of a $335 million fund-raising round led by GV, the venture-capital arm of Google parent…

President Donald Trump is threatening to "respond" after several major U.S. drug companies raised prices of some widely prescribed medicines. "Pfizer and others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason," Trump tweeted Monday. "They are merely taking advantage of the poor and others unable to defend themselves while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe and elsewhere." Pfizer hiked the cost of about 40 different drugs earlier this month, including Viagra for male impotence, Lipitor for treating high cholesterol, and the arthritis drug Xeljanz. Trump, who campaigned on promises to lower drug prices, said in May that some companies were volunteering to cut prices. Pfizer said the list price of medicines do not include discounts and rebates, and that…

Behind a row of sealed red incubator doors in a new facility in northern China, about 400,000 chicks are hatched every day, part of the rapidly modernizing supply chain in China's $37 billion egg industry, the world's biggest. As China overhauls production of everything from pork to milk and vegetables, farmers raising hens for eggs are also shifting from backyards to factory farms, where modern standardized processes are expected to raise quality and safety. That's an important step in a country where melamine-tainted eggs and eggs with high antibiotic residues have featured in a series of food safety scandals in recent years. It is also spurring demand for higher priced branded eggs over those sold loose in fresh produce markets. "These days if you're a small farmer, your eggs won't…

What started as a simple desire to be able to provide for her children has turned into a multimillion-dollar business for Tammie Umbel of Dulles, Virginia. She not only runs a cosmetics company but home-schools her 14 children — and says she still finds time for herself. Leysa Bakalets has her story. ...

Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador will seek to end the country's massive fuel imports, nearly all from the United States, during the first three years of his term while also boosting refining at home. The landslide winner of last Sunday's election told reporters Saturday morning before attending private meetings with members of his future cabinet that he would also prioritize increasing domestic production of crude oil, which has fallen sharply for years. "The objective is that we stop buying foreign gasoline by the halfway point of my six-year term," said Lopez Obrador, repeating a position he and his senior energy adviser staked out during the campaign. "We are going to immediately revive our oil activity, exploration and the drilling of wells so we have crude oil," he said. On the campaign trail, the leftist former mayor of Mexico City pitched his plan…

One of the world's biggest cargo shippers announced Saturday that it was pulling out of Iran for fear of becoming entangled in U.S. sanctions, and President Hassan Rouhani demanded that European countries to do more to offset the U.S. measures. The announcement by France's CMA CGM that it was quitting Iran dealt a blow to Tehran's efforts to persuade European countries to keep their companies operating in Iran despite the threat of new American sanctions. Iran says it needs more help from Europe to keep alive an agreement with world powers to curb its nuclear program. U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement in May and has announced new sanctions on Tehran. Washington has ordered all countries to stop buying Iranian oil by November and foreign firms to stop doing business there or face U.S. blacklists. European powers that still support…

The opening shots have been fired in what some fear may be the start of a major trade war. China retaliating at midnight Friday with equivalent tariffs on U.S. goods after the U.S. followed through on its threat to raise tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports. All this as the U.S. job market posted solid gains last month. Mil Arcega has more. ...

Amid the very real hardships Syrian refugees face, little has been said about another major health and humanitarian issue: What to do with the massive accumulations of trash and waste. But one refugee camp in Jordan is doing something about it. With the help of an international nonprofit group, the residents of the Zaatari Refugee Camp launched a recycling program to eliminate the trash left by the tens of thousands of refugees who live there ... and provide jobs. Arash Arabasadi reports. ...

The political squabbling between China and the United States over trade and other issues affect the world's two largest economies through a variety of mechanisms with unpredictable results.  For example, prices of stock in both nations have been hurt as some shareholders sold their shares and other investors were reluctant to buy shares of companies that might be hurt by rising tariffs. These actions cut demand for certain stocks, making prices fall. Shareholders are part-owners of companies who hope to profit when the company prospers and grows. Rising tariff costs make growth less likely, and that hurts investor confidence. World Trade Organization spokesman Dan Pruzin told Reuters that worries about trade are already being felt. "Companies are hesitating to invest, markets are getting jittery, and some prices are rising," he…

U.S. employers kept up a brisk hiring pace in June by adding 213,000 jobs, a sign of confidence in the economy despite the start of a potentially punishing trade war with China. The job growth wasn't enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising from 3.8 percent to 4 percent, the government said Friday. But the jobless rate rose for an encouraging reason: More people felt it was a good time to begin looking for a job, though not all of them immediately found one. The growing optimism that people can find work suggested that the 9-year old U.S. economic expansion — the second-longest on record — has the momentum to keep chugging along. Yet its path ahead is uncertain. Just hours before the monthly jobs report was released, the…

The World Trade Organization is urging nations to resolve trade tensions, warning that restrictive trade measures would have a harmful impact on the global economy. The group refuses to weigh in on what appears to be the start of a trade war between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies. China has reacted to Washington's decision to slap 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods by reciprocating in kind. While the Geneva-based WTO will not comment on specific actions, the organization's director-general, Roberto Azevedo, has sent out a series of tweets warning nations against giving in to protectionist impulses. Azevedo says a new WTO monitoring report on trade measures enacted by the G-20 countries indicates a disturbing increase in trade restrictions by major economies.…