U.S. consumers bought more cars and hardware, and stepped up online purchases in April, after two months of sluggish sales. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department says retail sales rose four-tenths of a percentage point in April, and sales were a bit better than first reported the previous month. The …
In an interview with The Economist, President Donald Trump whiffed on a batch of economic facts. He got the Canada-U.S. trade balance wrong, misplaced the U.S. in the world ranks of tax burdens and claimed to have coined an economic phrase that’s been familiar to economists for some 80 years. …
A sweeping trade agreement, ranging from banking to beef, has been reached between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday. “It was pretty much a Herculean accomplishment to get this done,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “This is more than has been done in the whole …
As farmers fret over President Donald Trump’s criticism of international trade agreements, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is trying to reassure them by creating a top post to oversee trade and foreign agricultural affairs. The new undersecretary position is a sign of Perdue’s efforts to promote the U.S. agricultural industry as …
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross sees the U.S. semiconductor industry as still dominant globally but said he is worried that it will be threatened by China’s planned investment binge to build up its own chipmaking industry. Ross told Reuters in an interview this week that his agency is considering a …
Bulgaria is seeking private investors to build a nuclear power plant on the Danube River, which was canceled five years ago, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Sofia canceled the Belene project in 2012 after failing to find foreign investors …
Uber is launching its private ride-hailing service in the Myanmar commercial capital of Yangon on Thursday, aiming to tap into one of the world’s youngest and fastest-growing online markets. The launch follows Singapore-based GrabTaxi’s debut by about two months. Uber is one of the world’s largest on-demand transportation platforms. It …
Housing foreclosure activity in the United States dropped to the lowest level since 2005 last month, according to a business research group. ATTOM Data Solutions tracks default notices, auctions and bank repossessions across the nation and says the number of actions dropped 23 percent from a year ago. That means …
China’s President Xi Jinping initiated the ambitious Belt and Road development plan but it has become a world plan not tied to his presidency, the Commerce Ministry said Wednesday, days before Xi hosts a global forum on the initiative. The forum in Beijing next week will draw heads of state …
In August, 2014, planners in the northeastern Chinese city of Hunchun argued in state media that it should be included in the “One Belt, One Road” project, Beijing’s vision laid out the previous year of a new Silk Road across Asia to Europe. In 2015, the official Xinhua news agency …
Mexico is embarking on a strategy to combat illegal pipeline thefts that includes going after those who purchase and deal in stolen fuel as well as the thieves, the country’s treasury secretary said Tuesday. Jose Antonio Meade said it’s a problem that costs Mexico somewhere between 15 billion and …
Four U.S. states filed a lawsuit Tuesday over President Donald Trump’s decision to restart the sale of coal leases on federal lands, saying the Obama-era block of the leasing program was reversed without studying what’s best for the environment and for taxpayers. The attorneys general of California, New Mexico, New …
Indian airline IndiGo said it plans to start flying smaller planes to second-tier towns and cities later this year, in a shift in strategy for the carrier that has prided itself on the simplicity of running only one type of jet. IndiGo, which has a fleet of 131 Airbus A320 …
Move over Ellen DeGeneres, there’s a new most-tweeted tweet. And it’s not from another celebrity, famous athlete or politician, but rather a 16-year-old kid from Reno, Nevada named Carter Wilkerson who has a deep love for chicken nuggets from U.S. fast food chain Wendy’s. It all started in April when …
The saleswomen in L’Occitane en Provence’s new Havana store make $12.50 a month. The acacia eau de toilette they sell costs $95.20 a bottle. Rejuvenating face cream is $162.40 an ounce. A few doors down, a Canon EOS camera goes for $7,542.01. A Bulgari watch, $10,200. In the heart of …
Canada escalated a trade dispute with United States by making threats Washington called inappropriate in part because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under pressure to secure support in a key region ahead of the country’s 2019 elections. Washington last month slapped tariffs on timber imports, prompting Trudeau to say he …
What is the EB-5 Visa? The EB-5 program allows entrepreneurs and their families to apply for green cards (permanent residence) if they 1) make the necessary investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States, and 2) plan to create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers. …
The prospect of an economic doomsday for Greece may have diminished in the past week, but citizen Angelika Dinkel doesn’t much care. Following months of negotiations, the Greek government last week agreed to further austerity measures in order to access loans from its $94 billion bailout program.. But as she …
Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Saturday faulted Wells Fargo & Co for failing to stop employees from signing up customers for bogus accounts even after learning it was happening. Wells Fargo, whose largest shareholder is Berkshire, with a 10 percent stake worth roughly $27 billion, gave employees …
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Chairman Warren Buffett fumed Saturday that health care costs are eating away at the U.S. economy like “tapeworm” and said the Republican approach to overhaul Obamacare is a tax cut for the rich. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday narrowly approved a bill to repeal and …
U.S. lawmakers have put the nation’s airlines on notice: Improve customer service or we will make you. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing for top airline executives to testify, and to determine how Congress might respond after a passenger was violently dragged off an overbooked United Airlines …
Greece reached a deal with its European lenders Tuesday for more reforms in exchange for a badly needed bailout installment so Athens could avoid possible bankruptcy. After months of often tough talks, Greek officials agreed to more pension cuts and tax increases. The European Commission and European Central Bank will …
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to China said on Tuesday he would do everything possible to address what he called China’s “unfair and illegal” sales of underpriced steel in the world market. “I want to do everything I can to make sure that we stop the …
Republicans who eagerly awaited a GOP president so they could take a heavy knife to many of the regulatory requirements for banks, insurers and other financial institutions finally get their chance. The House Financial Services Committee, led by Texas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, is slated to begin work Tuesday on legislation …
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at its meeting this week as it pauses to parse more economic data but may hint it is on track for an increase in June. The central bank is scheduled to release its policy decision at 2 p.m. EDT …
Innkeepers, restaurateurs and landscapers around the U.S. say they’re struggling to find seasonal help and turning down business in some cases because the government tightened up on visas for temporary foreign workers. At issue are H-2B visas, which are issued for seasonal, nonagricultural jobs. The U.S. caps the number at …