The U.S. job market is getting stronger, according to Labor Department data published Thursday. The number of Americans signing up for unemployment assistance fell by 10,000, to a nationwide total of 245,000. Experts say readings below 300,000 indicate a healthy job market, where layoffs are scarce and employers are trying …
From a Peruvian trout farm manager to the head of an Indonesian meatball company, a list of 500 women entrepreneurs in emerging markets was launched Thursday to challenge the stereotype of a typical company boss and inspire women globally. The “Foundation 500” list features the portraits and careers of 500 …
It was almost sunset as fishermen guided their boats back onto the beach at Joal, Senegal, after a long day at sea. At first glance, it looks as though they’d collected a good day’s haul, but their nets were full of small sardinella, known locally as yaabooy. Fisherman Mamdou Lamine …
Peru joined Indonesia Wednesday as the only two countries worldwide to make their fishing boat tracking data available to the public. Such access will give conservationists, along with those who buy, sell and eat seafood, a clearer picture where their favorite dishes come from. Officials from both countries made their …
Both local, foreign industrial boats are blamed for Senegalese fishing industry’s continued problems. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization says more than half of West Africa’s fisheries are dangerously depleted. …
President Donald Trump has chosen a regional banker as his nominee for a key government position in bank regulation. Trump announced late Monday he is naming Joseph Otting as comptroller of the currency, heading a Treasury Department agency that is the chief overseer for federally chartered banks. If confirmed …
A decade ago, the first inklings of the coming recession emerged as a housing bubble fueled by scant regulation, low interest rates and easy credit gradually began to crater and soon would take the rest of the economy along for the painful ride. By the time the Great Recession ended …
The U.S. and Mexican governments reached a new agreement to significantly shift their sugar trade mix, but U.S. sugar producers have failed to endorse the deal, leaving question marks over whether it could still sour broader trade relations. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the “agreement in principle” with Mexican …
Qatar’s currency came under pressure on Tuesday as Gulf Arab commercial banks started holding off on business with Qatari banks because of a diplomatic rift in the region. Banking sources said some banks from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain delayed letters of credit and other deals with …
Cities are pushing back on the possibility of losing millions of dollars in U.S. anti-terrorism grants under President Donald Trump’s spending plan — the third straight White House that has moved to cut the funding. The proposed budget would cut cash for the program from $605 million to nearly $449 …
Global airlines made a full-throated defense of globalization on Monday at their largest annual gathering, vowing not to give up on climate change agreements and calling for a swift resolution of a diplomatic rift threatening air travel in the Middle East. Missing from the general meeting of the International Air …
The U.S. government is investigating complaints that air bag control computers in some Jeep Liberty SUVs can fail, preventing the air bag system from operating properly in a crash. The probe covers about 105,000 of the vehicles from the 2012 model year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says …
On the border of China and Kazakhstan, an international free trade zone has become a showpiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road initiative to boost global trade and commerce by improving infrastructure and connectivity. Chinese state media are filled with stories about the stunning success of Horgos, …
The productivity of American workers was flat in the first three months of this year, while labor costs rose at the fastest pace since the second quarter of last year. Productivity growth was zero in the January-March quarter after rising at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, …
Diversification is a growing trend in some sectors of the agriculture industry. Some winemakers in the northwestern state of Oregon are branching out into marijuana as a new business venture. Faith Lapidus reports. …
The Trump administration is considering possible sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, senior White House officials said, in what would be a major escalation of U.S. efforts to pressure the country’s embattled leftist government amid a crackdown on the opposition. The idea of striking at …
The Trump administration is considering possible sanctions on Venezuela’s vital energy sector, including state oil company PDVSA, senior White House officials said, in what would be a major escalation of U.S. efforts to pressure the country’s embattled leftist government amid a crackdown on the opposition. The idea of striking at …
The restaurant business can cause serious heartburn. It’s a mixed salad of bureaucracy, money, and paperwork that keeps some chefs from ever selling that first plate of food. But there may be hope as “restaurant incubators” offer chefs an alternative menu for success. Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington. …
The U.S. trade deficit rose in April to the highest level since January. The politically sensitive trade gap with China registered a sharp increase. The Commerce Department said Friday that the U.S. trade gap in goods and services climbed 5.2 percent to $47.6 billion in April from March. Exports …
The price of oil has fallen sharply as investors bet that President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement will increase the country’s oil and gas production. The cost of a barrel of crude slumped 2.4 percent, or $1.18, to $47.18 in electronic …
The heated debate over India’s cash ban continues, with critics saying it slowed an economy that was growing, while the government says economic momentum was barely affected. Critics say the scrapping of 86 percent of the country’s currency last November cost India its status as the world’s fastest growing economy. …
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday he was confident that Congress would raise the federal debt limit “before there’s an issue” with U.S. creditworthiness, and he pledged that the Trump administration’s tax reform plans would be paid for. “We’re going to get it increased,” Mnuchin told Fox Business …
President Donald Trump is moving the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, signed by nearly 200 other nations. Trump said Thursday that the Paris agreement hurts U.S. economic growth, costs millions of American jobs and puts U.S. firms at a disadvantage. However, his decision contrasted with the views …
Canada’s defense minister repeated a threat Wednesday to cancel the purchase of 18 fighter jets from Boeing Co. because of the company’s trade complaint against Canadian plane maker Bombardier. Harjit Sajjan said Boeing’s action against Bombardier is “unfounded” and not the behavior of a “trusted partner.” He said buying …
Major investors put U.S. industry on notice Wednesday that climate change matters, even as reports emerged that President Donald Trump plans to withdraw the United States from an international pact to fight global warming. A number of large institutional fund firms including BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, supported a …
The head of a New York-based advocacy group has called on President Donald Trump and his older daughter to help secure the release of three men who reported labor violations at a Chinese company that makes shoes bearing the Ivanka Trump brand. “We appeal to President Trump, Ivanka Trump herself, …