Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos is now the richest person of all time, with a fortune of $105.1 billion, according to financial news outlet Bloomberg. With the stock market soaring to new heights in the first few days of 2018, Bezos’ fortune rocketed upward, growing $6.1 billion in just five trading …

Oil prices surged to a three-year high Tuesday on rising expectations that OPEC member countries will comply with oil production cuts to the end of 2018. Brent Crude prices are headed toward $70 a barrel, West Texas Crude settled at $62.96 bbl, the highest since December 2014. But other factors …

Mexico recorded 6.77 percent annual inflation in 2017, the country said Tuesday, more than double its 3 percent target and a 17-year high.  The government’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography published the widely expected figure, also saying that consumer prices rose 0.59 percent in December.  “The inflation rebound is …

Greek demonstrators stormed the country’s Labor Ministry and confronted its chief on Tuesday in protest at moves to restrict the right to strike, a condition set by international creditors in exchange for bailout funds. Athens is set to introduce legislation which could limit the frequency of strikes in the country, …

Unemployment across the 19-country eurozone fell in November to its lowest level in nearly nine years, official figures showed Tuesday, in the latest sign that the currency bloc’s economy headed into the new year in robust shape. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said the jobless rate adjusted for seasonal …

The White House says President Donald Trump will attend this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, only the second time a U.S. president has attended the summit, and the first in 18 years. Presidential spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Tuesday, “The president welcomes opportunities to advance his America …

Venezuela has extended its ban on air and maritime ties with three nearby Dutch Caribbean islands, citing out of control smuggling, officials said Tuesday.   Venezuela is pressing for high-level talks with leaders of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire before trading can resume, officials said.   Vice President Tareck El Aissami …

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into Apple over revelations it secretly slowed down older versions of its handsets.   The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday a probe was opened last week over alleged “deception and planned obsolescence” of some Apple products. It is led by the French body in …

2017 was the costliest year on record for natural disasters in the United States, according to scientists. Sixteen disasters caused an estimated $306 billion in damage. VOA’s Steve Baragona reports. …

Ecuador’s comptroller’s office on Monday announced it will open an audit of debt contracted in the last five years of the government of former President Rafael Correa to determine the legality of the operations and the use of the funds. The move follows a report by the comptroller’s office revealing …

One person was killed Monday during clashes between security forces and protesters in a Tunisian town, a security official and residents said, as demonstrations over rising prices and tax increases spread in the North African country. A man was killed during a demonstration against government austerity measures in Tebourba, 40 …

Connecting with rural Americans, President Donald Trump on Monday hailed his tax overhaul as a victory for family farmers and pitched his vision to expand access to broadband internet, a cornerstone of economic development in the nation’s heartland. “Those towers are going to go up and you’re going to have …

An independent energy agency on Monday rejected a Trump administration plan to bolster coal-fired and nuclear power plants, dealing a blow to President Donald Trump’s efforts to boost the struggling coal industry. The decision by the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was unexpected and comes amid repeated promises by Trump …

A US entrepreneur is taking advantage of a demand for American goods in Africa — creating an online portal for cross border trade between the two countries. As VOA’s Mariama Diallo reports. …

Eritrea has temporarily shut down nearly 450 private businesses, the latest in a series of moves that has sent shockwaves through the economy of the Red Sea nation. The closures were a response to companies hoarding cash and “failing to do business through checks and other banking systems,” according to …

The Iranian town of Doroud should be a prosperous place — nestled in a valley at the junction of two rivers in the Zagros Mountains, it’s in an area rich in metals to be mined and stone to be quarried. Last year, a military factory on the outskirts of town …

The U.S. economy ended 2017 by adding 148,000 new jobs in December. Despite the modest gain, hiring was strong enough to suggest the economic momentum will continue. But while the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent, analysts say the pace of job growth may …

Britain should charge a 25-pence ($0.34) levy on disposable coffee cups to cut down waste and use the money to improve recycling facilities, a committee of lawmakers said Friday. Chains Pret A Manger, Costa Coffee, Caffe Nero and Greggs alongside U.S. firm Starbucks are among the biggest coffee-sellers in Britain, …

Marijuana-related stocks plummeted, cannabis boosters worried about the industry’s future and defiant growers and sellers vowed to keep operating after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions signaled a tougher approach Thursday to federal pot enforcement. The plunging stock prices reversed a weekslong rally driven by optimism for legal recreational sales that …

Wall Street sure loves the tax bill, even if polls show most Americans don’t. The Dow Jones industrial average surged past 25,000 Thursday, a strong signal of investor enthusiasm for President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut. The milestone comes less than a year after the Dow topped 20,000. “We …

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced plans to open up 90 percent of America’s coastal waters to oil drilling, including off California and Florida, two areas where activists have worked for years to protect marine ecosystems from oil spills. The proposed five-year plan released Thursday is much more …

The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through the 25,000-threshold for the first time Thursday, and notched another 1,000-point milestone. The index of blue-chip stocks is studded with industrial heavyweights such as Boeing and Caterpillar. Among the biggest gainers were technology companies and banks. Wells Fargo jumped 1.9 percent and Microsoft …

Australia said Thursday it planned to become the fourth country in the world to legalize medicinal marijuana exports in a bid to score a piece of the estimated $55 billion global market. Cannabis cultivation in Australia is still relatively small, as recreational use remains illegal. But the government hopes domestic …

Auto sales in the United States fell by 2 percent in 2017, the first decline in seven years. Ford Motor reported Wednesday that its new vehicle sales fell 1 percent, as did those of General Motors. Fiat Chrysler reported a decline of 8 percent compared with 2016. Volkswagen said its …

A music publisher is seeking at least $1.6 billion from Spotify for alleged copyright violations, the latest lawsuit to hit the fast-growing streaming company. Wixen Music Publishing Inc., which holds rights to songs of major artists including Neil Young, the Doors, Tom Petty and Santana, charged in a lawsuit that Spotify failed to …