Architect Kobi Karp has a vision for affordable housing in the Florida Keys: residences set at coconut-tree height to keep them dry, atop concrete columns holding them in place.   Key West clients sought out his designs before Hurricane Irma struck the island chain this month, and he thinks the …

The 220 percent tariff imposed by the United States on Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jet is an “attack” on Quebec and Canada, the province’s Premier Philippe Couillard said on Wednesday. “Quebec has been attacked. And Quebec will resist. And Quebec will unite. All together, we will protect our workers. All together, …

Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose a modest 1.7 percent in August, reflecting a rebound in the volatile aircraft sector. A gauge of business investment was up for a second month, providing hope that a revival in manufacturing is gaining strength.   Last month’s advance in orders for durable goods …

Switzerland is the world’s most competitive economy for a ninth straight year, the Geneva-based World Economic Forum said on Wednesday. Since suffering a rare blip in 2008, when it was nudged into second place by the United States, the Swiss economy has maintained an efficient but unshakeable grip on the …

The Commerce Department slapped duties of nearly 220 percent on Canada’s Bombardier C Series aircraft Tuesday in a victory for Boeing that is likely to raise tensions between the United States and its allies Canada and Britain. Commerce ruled that Montreal-based Bombardier used unfair government subsidies to sell jets at …

Despite concerns about low inflation in the United States, the head of the U.S. central bank says raising interest rates gradually would be the most appropriate policy stance for the Federal Reserve. “It would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to two percent,” Fed Chair …

Mexican officials are tallying up the economic losses of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused widespread damage in the capital, as the number of buildings that may need to be pulled down or need major repairs rose to 500.   The death toll in the quake rose to 333, with …

As China battles the twin challenges of rapid city growth and extreme weather, it is adopting a new tactic: turning its cities into giant sponges. Thirty pilot cities in the country are trying to trap and hold more water to deal with such problems as flooding, drought, extreme heat and …

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a $2.5 billion project to electrify all of the country’s households by the end of 2018. More than 40 million households – about a quarter of all in the country – are yet to be electrified and about 300 million of India’s …

President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday that Turkey could cut off the pipeline that carries oil from northern Iraq to the outside world, intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence referendum. Erdogan spoke shortly after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Ankara could take punitive measures involving borders …

Brazil will reinstate a mining ban in a vast area of the Amazon rainforest, the government announced on Monday, in an about-face that is a victory for environmentalists who feared deforestation. The Mines and Energy Ministry said in a statement that President Michel Temer’s administration had decided to revoke an …

The top U.S. negotiator at talks to modernize the NAFTA trade pact on Monday dismissed questions about why his team had so far failed to produce specific proposals on key issues, saying “I don’t see a problem.” Officials from the United States, Mexico and Canada are in Ottawa for the …

Global accountancy firm Deloitte has been hit by a sophisticated hack that resulted in breach of confidential information and plans from some of its biggest clients, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said on Monday. Deloitte — one of the big four professional services providers — confirmed to the newspaper it had been hit by …

Airbnb is launching local tours and other experiences in New York City this week with a special host. Her listing promises an “unforgettable shoe-shopping experience’” and her bio describes her as an “actor, producer, businesswoman” and “proud New Yorker.”   She’s Sarah Jessica Parker of ‘Sex and the City’ fame …

Poised to reveal a tax plan that is a pillar of  his economic policy and delivering on a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump is promising “The largest tax cut in the history of our country.” Trump’s declarations came as the health care legislation brought forward by Republicans teetered near failure. …

Iraq on Sunday urged foreign countries to stop importing crude directly from its autonomous Kurdistan region and to restrict oil trading to the central government. The call, published in statement from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, came in retaliation for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s plan to hold a referendum on …

Swiss voters rejected raising women’s retirement age to 65 in a referendum on Sunday on shoring up the wealthy nation’s pension system as a wave of Baby Boomers stops working. Authorities pushing the first serious reform of the pension system in two decades had warned that old-age benefits were increasingly …

Sunday’s national election in Germany will sound the starting gun for a renewed debate on fixing flaws in Europe’s shared currency to prevent future crises.   France’s new president Emmanuel Macron has made it clear he is willing to push for change to strengthen the euro and is expected to …

Cheap solar panels imported from China and other countries have led to a boom in the U.S. solar industry, where rooftop and other installations have surged 10-fold since 2011. But two U.S. solar manufacturers say the flood of imports has led one to bankruptcy and forced the other to lay …

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has announced plans to invest $1 billion to start making electric vehicles at its manufacturing plant in the southern U.S. state of Alabama. The luxury automaker said it will manufacture electric SUVs under Mercedes’ EQ subbrand at the plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in just more than three …

The United States will present new proposals and begin to weigh into thornier issues of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the third round of negotiations starting in Ottawa Saturday, U.S. chief negotiator John Melle said Thursday. The stepped-up negotiations come with four more rounds of talks left after …

When officials from Myanmar’s commercial capital Yangon toured six European countries in June, they were hoping to drum up investment in transport, energy and education. Instead, they were bombarded with questions about the country’s treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, who have long complained of persecution by the Buddhist majority …

Thousands of small factories in China, making everything from steel to chemicals, are scrambling for access to the country’s clogged rail network as Beijing curbs the use of diesel trucks in an effort to tackle air pollution. The Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) last month gave tens of thousands of …

More than a third of migrant fishermen in Thailand clearly were victims of trafficking over the past five years, and even more workers in the industry were possibly trafficked as well, according to a report published Thursday. Routinely underpaid and physically abused, three-quarters of migrants working on Thai fishing vessels …

Venezuelan drivers are facing growing queues to buy gasoline despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, adding to the OPEC country’s woes as its refineries sputter and its socialist economic system crumbles. The queues and shuttered service stations have been intermittent problems for much of this year, most notably outside …