China says its defense budget will increase by about 7 percent this year, marking the second year in a row China has kept its military spending to a single digit percentage increase. The exact number for defense spending in 2017 will be released Sunday when parliament begins its annual session. …
Demand for gasoline in the United States, which accounts for a tenth of global oil consumption, is expected to peak next year as engines become more efficient, WoodMackenzie analysts said. Global demand for gasoline, which accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s oil consumption, is set to peak …
South Korean companies Friday bore the brunt of Chinese anger over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system outside Seoul, as shares tumbled after media reports of Beijing tour operators being ordered to stop selling trips to the country. Cosmetics makers, retailers, automakers and airlines were among the biggest …
Puffing on a cigar at Cuba’s annual Habanos cigar festival, American aficionado Paul Segal said he would buy as many boxes of cigars as he could carry home in case U.S. President Donald Trump tightens regulations on visitors to the communist-run island again. Segal, who writes a cigar blog called …
China’s government says it will support the World Trade Organization, arguing that an “open and unbiased” trading system benefits global economic growth and is in everyone’s interest. Beijing’s comments come just a day after the Trump administration said it might not comply with WTO rulings it judged to violate American …
Following a drastic decline in his small business after India scrapped 86 percent of its currency in November, fruit hawker Khubi Ram switched to selling vegetables, which are more of an essential household purchase. “My two helpers headed back to their villages, they had no money. I had to somehow …
Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, which President Donald Trump singled out Tuesday when discussing foreign trade barriers, warned earlier this year against responding to such restrictions by imposing higher American tariffs. Trump said in his speech to Congress that executives from Harley-Davidson told him they have trouble selling motorcycles outside of …
Chilean police raided the offices of Brazil’s Odebrecht in capital Santiago on Wednesday, as part of a widening investigation into bribes paid by the conglomerate on construction projects across Latin America. A Chilean prosecutor will travel to Brasilia this month to work with Brazilian colleagues questioning Odebrecht executives, national public …
Here’s a look at how the U.S. government’s budget is drawn up and approved: — The process starts with the submission of the president’s annual budget request to Congress. Traditionally, this is done on the first Monday in February. The president’s budget request details the administration’s position on a full …
Vladimir Jehlicka and his business partners spent 25 years building up their Czech machinery firm before deciding to call it a day. However, they faced a problem that is growing as the first generation of post-communist entrepreneurs nears retirement. Their children weren’t interested in running the shop but equally Jehlicka …
Greece and its lenders resumed a long-stalled review of its bailout Tuesday, with the government in Athens braced to commit to yet more austerity in exchange for the funds the country needs to remain solvent. The review has dragged on for months, partly because of a rift between the European …
Pakistan’s decision to close the border with Afghanistan was a largely symbolic act aimed at forcing its neighbor to take action against extremist groups blamed for fomenting cross-border terror attacks. It’s a hard reality for the travelers and traders trapped for nearly two weeks on both sides of the dusty …
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross was sworn in as U.S. commerce secretary on Tuesday after helping shape Republican President Donald Trump’s opposition to multilateral trade deals. Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Ross, 79, a day after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the corporate turnaround expert’s …
South Korean special prosecutors said they would indict Samsung’s de facto chief Tuesday on bribery, embezzlement and other charges linked to a political scandal that has toppled President Park Geun-hye. The planned indictment of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is a huge hit for the largest and most …
Sales of Cuba’s legendary cigars rose 5 percent last year to $445 million, defying stagnation in the global luxury goods market, manufacturer Habanos S.A. said on Monday at the opening of the Caribbean island’s annual cigar festival. Habanos, which makes brands including Cohiba, Monte Cristo and Romeo y Julieta, said …
Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross easily won confirmation as U.S. commerce secretary on Monday, clearing President Donald Trump’s top trade official to start work on renegotiating trade relationships with China and Mexico. The U.S. Senate voted 72-27 to confirm the 79-year-old corporate turnaround expert’s nomination, with strong support from Democrats. Ross …
In an effort to save on labor costs and increase efficiency, fast-food chain Wendy’s will install self-ordering kiosks in about 1,000 of its locations in the United States. According to David Trimm, a spokesman for the Ohio-based company, franchises that want the kiosks will, on average, install three of them, …
The American mining company Freeport-McMoRan has brought the world’s biggest gold mine, in the Indonesian province of West Papua, to a standstill. The corporation is butting heads with the Indonesian government over protectionist mining regulations. And now that Freeport has started to dismiss tens of thousands of workers, the local …
President Donald Trump’s administration will begin rolling back Obama-era environmental regulations in an “aggressive way” as soon as next week, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday — adding that he understood why some Americans wanted to see his agency eliminated. “I think there are some regulations that …
Launching a startup is no easy feat. Launching one outside your native country is even harder. But for certain French startups, the French government is there to help. A government-sponsored competition that began last year offers startups marketing and promotional assistance. The Creative Next Challenge is a series of …
Facing pushback from industry and Republicans in Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency delayed Friday a proposal that would require mining companies to show they have the financial wherewithal to clean up their pollution so taxpayers aren’t stuck footing the bill. Contaminated water from mine sites can flow into rivers …
When toymaker Estrela decided to move manufacturing capacity back to Latin America from China, it sank $2 million into a new factory not in its native Brazil – the region’s largest economy – but in its tiny southern neighbor Paraguay. The plant, which opened this month in the border town …
China for the first time became Germany’s most important trading partner in 2016, overtaking the United States, which fell back to third place behind France, data showed on Friday. German imports from and exports to China rose to 170 billion euros ($180 billion) last year, Federal Statistics Office figures reviewed …
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended a deal reached between Athens and its foreign creditors for further reforms in return for bailout aid, saying it was an “honorable compromise.” Tsipras said he believed relations between Greece, the European Union and International Monetary Fund had turned a page after seven years …
Egyptians are bearing down under their worst inflation in a decade, cutting spending as much as possible as prices surge on basic food items, transportation, housing, and even some essential medicines. Inflation reached almost 30 percent in January, up 5 percent over the previous month, driven by the floatation of …
President Donald Trump told the heads of more than 20 of the largest U.S. manufacturers Thursday that he planned to bring millions of factory jobs back to the United States. Trump said the United States had lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs since the North American Free Trade Agreement was …