Category: Business

The US trade deficit hit a 10-year high in October as Americans used a stronger dollar to snap up record imports, the government reported Thursday. The result showed the trade gap has continued to swell despite the punitive tariffs imposed this year on allies and adversaries alike by US President Donald Trump, who has focused intently on the subject with the goal of reducing the deficit. Amid Trump's high-stakes trade war with Beijing, the total trade gap rose 1.7 percent to $55.5 billion, driven by all-time high imports, according to the Commerce Department. The gap in goods trade with China likewise continued to expand, rising two percent to $38 billion, seasonally adjusted, as key exports like soybeans fell. The October figure handily overshot analyst expectations, and could confirm weaker economic…

OPEC countries were gathered Thursday to find a way to support the falling price of oil, with analysts predicting the cartel and key ally Russia would agree to cut production by at least 1 million barrels per day. Crude prices have been falling since October because major producers — including the U.S. — are pumping oil at high rates and due to fears that weaker economic growth could dampen energy demand. The price of oil fell 22 percent in November and was down again on Thursday amid speculation that OPEC’s action might be too timid to support the market. Saudi Arabia, the heavyweight within OPEC, said Thursday it was in favor of a cut. “I think a million (barrels a day) will be adequate personally,” Saudi oil minister Khalid Al-Falih…

OPEC and Russia moved closer on Wednesday to agreeing cuts in oil production from next year despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce the price of crude. OPEC meets on Thursday in Vienna, followed by talks with allies such as Russia on Friday. OPEC's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, has indicated a need for steep output reductions from January, fearing a glut, but Russia has resisted a large cut. "All of us including Russia agreed there is a need for a reduction," Oman's Oil Minister Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Rumhy told reporters after a ministerial committee that groups Saudi Arabia, Russia and several other producers met on Wednesday. Exact volumes were still being discussed, he said. The cuts would take September or October 2018 as baseline figures and last…

A new study estimates 164 million people are migrating to foreign countries in search of work, an increase of 9 percent since 2013. The majority of migrant workers are men between the ages of 25 and 64, according to the International Labor Organization's second edition of Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers. While the number of migrant workers in upper-middle-income countries has grown, the report finds the vast majority head for richer countries in North America, Europe and the Arab region, particularly the Gulf States. Manuela Tomei, director of the ILO Conditions of Work and Equality Department, tells VOA most of the people who migrate for work are low skilled, and employed in fields such as construction, agriculture, the hospitality industry or as domestic help. She says migrant workers are…

U.S. President Donald Trump, who rattled global markets Tuesday after declaring himself "a Tariff Man," predicted in a series of tweets Wednesday the United States and China would negotiate a new trade deal. Trump said China is planning to resume buying U.S. soybeans and natural gas, which he said confirms his claims that China had agreed to start "immediately" buying U.S. products." Trump said he believes "President Xi (Jinping) meant every word of what he said" at their meeting recently in Argentina, including "his promise to me to criminalize the sale of deadly Fentanyl coming into the United States." The president's optimistic comments came one day after stock prices around the world plunged in response to a series of tweets he posted on Tuesday, warning a fragile accord between the…

Vimla Yadav, a farmer from India's Haryana state, says agriculture costs, such as fertilizers and seeds, have soared, yet produce prices have plunged, leaving her family of 10 with virtually no profit from their four-acre farm. "We don't even get the fruits of the labor that the entire family puts in on the farm, although we slog day and night," she laments. Yadav is one of the tens of thousands of angry farmers from around the country who poured into the Indian capital recently, demanding a special session of parliament to discuss their demands:better prices for farm produce and a waiver by the government from repaying loans taken from banks. The protest highlighted the deepening distress among the population in the countryside, where there is growing concern about diminishing agricultural…

President Donald Trump insists his new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada will address the exporting of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. That pledge, however, comes on the heels of auto giant General Motors' announcement of the layoff of 14,000 employees in five factories in the United States and Canada. Despite the president's optimistic pronouncements, the General Motors announcement indicates broader market shifts in the automotive industry that are unlikely to be reversed. General Motors justified the decision as a result of shifting economic trends that have seen consumer preferences shift away from mid-sized vehicles and toward sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and electric cars. The company said the move "is transforming its global workforce to ensure the right skill sets for today and the future." Those moves toward increased efficiency also…

Right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday he plans 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. He said reforms should start with the public social security system and advance gradually to make sure they pass Congress. "The idea is to start with the (minimum) age, attack the privileges and take it forward," Bolsonaro said at a news conference, warning that the problem with the cost of the pension system was growing every year. "We cannot allow Brazil to reach the situation that Greece reached to do something about it," he said. Brazil's next president said he planned to start by raising the minimum age of retirement for everyone by two…

U.S. President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets Tuesday that talks to secure a trade deal with China "have already started" and if a "fair deal" is reached, "I will happily sign it."   Trump's comments come after leaders of the world's two biggest economies agreed Saturday in Argentina to not impose any new tariffs on each other's exports for the next 90 days while they negotiate a detailed trade agreement. Trump declared himself Tuesday "a Tariff Man" who wants "people or countries" with intentions to "raid the great wealth" of the U.S. "to pay for the privilege of doing so." White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said earlier this week the U.S. won Chinese commitments to buy more than $1 trillion in American products. The U.S. had…

Uber launched a new minibus service on Tuesday in traffic-mad Cairo, Egypt’s capital and one of the U.S. ride-sharing giant’s fastest-growing markets. A part of an aggressive push into emerging countries, the company hopes to draw millions of Egyptians into ride-sharing from chronically congested, pollution-filled urban landscapes and replace personal automobiles. It is already investing $100 million into a Mideast and North Africa customer support center in Cairo. At a news conference with the famed Pyramids at Giza in the background, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company wants to grow its global number of users from 100 million to 1 billion, and that the new Uber Bus service was part of this plan. “This is a product that we built for Cairo. It will now be the most affordable way…

The World Bank will give equal weight to curbing emissions and helping poor countries deal with the "disastrous effects" of a warming world as it steps up investments to tackle climate change in the first half of the 2020s, it said on Monday. The bank and its two sister organizations plan to double their investments in climate action to about $200 billion from 2021-2025, with a boost in support for efforts to adapt to higher temperatures, wilder weather and rising seas. The latest figures on international climate funding for developing nations show barely a quarter has been going to adaptation, with the bulk backing clean energy adoption and more efficient energy use, aimed at cutting planet-warming emissions. "We live in a new normal in which disasters are more severe and…

It's going to be a cozy Christmas this year as more Americans shop for comfortable apparel and accessories like fuzzy sweatshirts and sweaters, pajamas, socks and slippers. “I think we’re overstressed and the coziness is maybe an escape to a better time," says industry analyst Maria Rugolo of the NPD Group, who adds that a desire for comfort, convenience and versatility extends to other products as well. "We’re seeing those weighted blankets even, where they’re supposed to relieve stress and take away your anxiety," she says. "Again, we’re overall a stressed-out nation where technology keeps us very connected to our work lives and what’s going on and we never get to disconnect, but maybe we do a little bit in our homes and we want to invest in it.” Rugolo…

A group of young female business owners in Guinea Bissau have banded together to increase their business knowledge. They say the cooperation is increasing sales. From street vendors to women who own their own shops, Adele Gomes likes to encourage young female entrepreneurs in Guinea Bissau. Gomes is president of the “Young Women Entrepreneurs” group in Bissau, the capital. She wants to encourage young women in the West African country to expand their businesses and become financially independent. Gomes says they created the association because they felt weak, and by banding their ideas together, they can be stronger. For now, they are a small group of about 12 women who have a variety of businesses - from clothing design to event planning. This month marks the group’s one-year anniversary. The…

U.S. President Donald Trump boasted Monday of his "very strong and personal relationship" with Chinese President Xi Jinping, declaring a new U.S.-China trade deal would immediately allow American farmers to sell more of their products to Beijing. Stock markets in Asia and Europe jumped sharply after Trump and Xi, as leaders of the world's two biggest economies, agreed Saturday in Argentina to not impose any new tariffs on each other's exports for the next 90 days while they negotiate a detailed trade agreement. U.S. stock indexes also opened sharply higher in New York at the start of a new work week. "My meeting in Argentina with President Xi of China was an extraordinary one," Trump said on Twitter. "Relations with China have taken a BIG leap forward! Very good things…

China's president on Sunday signed new trade deals with Argentina as the Asian giant expands its growing role in Latin American economies. Presidents Mauricio Macri of Argentina and Xi Jinping of China announced the more than 30 agriculture and investment deals during a state visit following the Group of 20 summit of leaders in Buenos Aires. The deals include an agreement to export Argentine cherries to China and an expansion of a currency swap. China is among Argentina's top export markets, especially for agricultural commodities that are the engine of its economy. It is also one of Argentina's biggest lenders, financing about $18.2 billion in infrastructure and other projects, according to the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank. “China's development benefits Argentina, our region and the world,” Macri said during…

U.S. President Donald Trump has returned home from the Group of 20 meeting of the world’s top economies. After the curtain came down on the summit, the spotlight lingered on the leaders of the two top economies. As VOA’s White House bureau chief Steve Herman reports from Buenos Aires, in the end a truce was achieved in the escalating battle of tariffs between the United States and China. ...

The data stolen from the Marriott hotel empire in a massive breach is so rich and specific it could be used for espionage, identity theft, reputation attacks and even home burglaries, security experts say. Hackers stole data on as many as 500 million guests of former Starwood chain properties over four years including credit card and passport numbers, birthdates, phone numbers and hotel arrival and departure dates. It is one of the biggest data breaches on record. By comparison, last year’s Equifax hack affected more than 145 million people. A Target breach in 2013 affected more than 41 million payment card accounts and exposed contact information for more than 60 million customers. Especially sensitive data But the target here — hotels where high-stakes business deals, romantic trysts and espionage are daily…

A U.S. judge in California has granted preliminary approval of a $48 million settlement for investors who said Volkswagen AG made false and misleading statements about its excess diesel emissions.  Lawyers for the investors, who include police and other municipal pension funds, had estimated that the maximum they could have recovered was $147 million. But Judge Charles Breyer said the settlement agreed to in August appeared "fair, adequate and reasonable."  VW, in a statement, said Friday that the "proposed settlement agreement eliminates the uncertainty and considerable costs of protracted litigation in the United States and is in the best interests of the company." The ruling was issued late Wednesday.  Buybacks In total, Volkswagen has agreed to pay more than $25 billion in the United States for claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers, and has offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S.…

U.S. President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto have signed the new U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, a deal designed to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports. ...

During Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's successful campaign for the Mexican presidency, his advisers met representatives of dozens of investment funds to allay fears about the leftist's plans, saying he prized economic stability and wanted to attract foreign capital. Initially, it worked. When Lopez Obrador won office by a landslide on July 1, the peso and the stock market rose, buoyed by his conciliatory tone. The rally continued when Mexico and the United States reached a deal to rework the NAFTA trade pact in late August. But the mood has since changed. Lopez Obrador, who takes office Saturday, began saying in September that Mexico was "bankrupt." When he canceled a new $13 billion Mexico City airport on Oct. 29 on the basis of a widely-derided referendum, investors took flight. "[Lopez Obrador]…

It may be the world’s sixth largest, but most other things about India’s economy are up for debate. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is under fire for the release of new historical GDP figures that significantly downgraded growth during the years the opposition Congress party was in power, replacing old government estimates and those prepared by an independent committee. The figures, released by the government’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), showed growth in the 10 years of Congress rule to 2014 averaged 6.7 percent, below an average of 7.4 percent under the current government. A previous government estimate had growth under Congress at 7.8 percent. P. Chidambaram, a former Congress finance minister, called the release “a joke”. In response India’s current finance minister, the BJP’s Arun Jaitley, said the CSO…

Police raided six Deutsche Bank offices in and around Frankfurt on Thursday over money laundering allegations linked to the "Panama Papers", the public prosecutor's office in Germany's financial capital said. Investigators are looking into the activities of two unnamed Deutsche Bank employees alleged to have helped clients set up offshore firms to launder money, the prosecutor's office said. Around 170 police officers, prosecutors and tax inspectors searched the offices where written and electronic business documents were seized. "Of course, we will cooperate closely with the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt, as it is in our interest as well to clarify the facts," Deutsche Bank said, adding it believed it had already provided all the relevant information related to the "Panama Papers". The news comes as Deutsche Bank tries to repair…

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that new auto tariffs were "being studied now," asserting they could prevent job cuts such as the U.S. layoffs and plant closures that General Motors Co. announced this week.    Trump said on Twitter that the 25 percent tariff placed on imported pickup trucks and commercial vans from markets outside North America in the 1960s had long boosted U.S. vehicle production.    "If we did that with cars coming in, many more cars would be built here," Trump said, "and G.M. would not be closing their plants in Ohio, Michigan & Maryland."    The United States has a 2.5 percent tariff on imported cars and sport utility vehicles from markets outside North America and South Korea. The new North American trade deal exempts the first…

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted U.S. stock markets on Wednesday when he said interest rates were “just below" estimates of a level that neither brakes nor boosts a healthy economy. Many took his comments as a signal that the Fed's three-year tightening cycle is ending.  The S&P 500 and Dow posted their biggest percentage gains in eight months, while the Nasdaq saw its largest advance in just over a month following Powell's speech to the Economic Club of New York.  Powell said that while "there was a great deal to like" about U.S. prospects, "our gradual pace of raising interest rates has been an exercise in balancing risks."  Earlier in the day, in its first-ever financial stability report, the Fed cautioned that trade tensions, Brexit and troubled emerging markets could…

U.S. President Donald Trump touted the use of U.S. tariffs on foreign small trucks Wednesday, saying their placement on other foreign vehicles would have prevented the closure of several General Motors plants and the loss of thousands of coveted manufacturing jobs. Trump noted on Twitter that brisk U.S. small truck sales in the country are due to a 25-percent tariff on small truck imports. The president reiterated on Twitter that "countries that send us cars have taken advantage of the U.S. for decades.” Trump added he has “great power on this issue,” which he said “is being studied now.” Trump has threatened to eliminate all federal subsidies to GM in response to the company’s planned closure of five plants and the elimination of 14,000 jobs in North America. Questions remain,…

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that while there was "a great deal to like" about U.S. prospects, the Fed's gradual interest rate hikes are meant to balance risks as it tries to keep the economy on track. "We know that things often turn out to be quite different from even the most careful forecasts," Powell said in a speech that comes in the wake of last week's volatile market selloff. "Our gradual pace of raising interest rates has been an exercise in balancing risks." Powell offered few clues on how much longer the U.S. central bank would raise interest rates in the face of a slowdown overseas and market volatility at home. Instead he highlighted a new financial stability report the Fed published earlier on Wednesday.…

An airport worker drops by Warsaw's newest Ikea store during her lunch break to finish up plans for a home refurbishment. Around her, people drift in and out of the shop, placing small houseware items in big yellow bags as cafe tables fill up with people just stopping in for lunch. The store is not one of Ikea's out-of-the-way, maze-like warehouses that require a car to visit, but a shop like any other in a city center shopping mall. The Swedish retailing giant plans to open 30 such smaller stores in major cities around the world as part of a broader transformation to adapt to changing consumer habits. Compared with just a decade ago, shoppers are more likely to be living in urban areas and not have a car, and…

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to cut subsidies for General Motors after the largest U.S. automaker said it would halt production at five plants in North America and cut nearly 15,000 jobs. "The U.S. saved General Motors, and this is the THANKS we get! We are now looking at cutting all @GM subsidies, including ... for electric cars," Trump said on Twitter. Trump has made boosting auto jobs a key priority during his almost two years in office and has often attacked automakers on Twitter for not doing enough to boost U.S. employment. GM electric vehicles are eligible for a $7,500 tax credit under federal law, but it is not clear how the administration could restrict those credits or if Trump had other subsidies in mind. GM shares…