Hurricane Irma’s path of destruction up Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sunday threatens to disrupt a thriving state tourism industry worth more than $100 billion annually just months ahead of the busy winter travel season. Some of the state’s biggest attractions have announced temporary closures, including amusement park giants Walt Disney …

The introduction of post-Brexit customs checks could cost traders more than 4 billion pounds ($5.28 billion) a year, according to a think tank report released on Monday. The British government has said it plans to leave the European Union’s customs union when it leaves the bloc, and it wants to …

The former chairman of the world’s largest meatpacker, whose testimony implicated Brazil’s president in corruption, turned himself in to police Sunday after the country’s Supreme Court ordered his arrest.   Joesley Batista has avoided prosecution under a plea bargain deal in which he described how meatpacking giant JBS had bribed …

The White House’s decision this week to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), carries enormous repercussions for the nearly 800,000 beneficiaries: The undocumented young people who were brought to the United States as children. But the cost, which is difficult to quantify for a workforce faced with the …

The White House’s decision to repeal DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, carries enormous repercussions for the nearly 800,000 beneficiaries who arrived in the U.S. as children. Over the next two years, more than 700,000 employed recipients will find themselves without a job. And for their employers, laying off …

Two back-to-back storms will have a significant impact on U.S. growth and productivity, according to economists tracking the impact of Hurricanes Harvey in Texas, and Irma — expected to make landfall in Florida this weekend. Despite the potential catastrophic loss in lives and capital, economists who spoke with VOA say …

China’s producer price inflation accelerated more than expected to a four-month high in August, fueled by strong gains in raw materials prices and pointing to strong, sustained growth for both factory profits and the economy. The producer price index (PPI) rose 6.3 percent in August from a year earlier, from …

With Republicans in Congress under pressure to deliver on taxes, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Thursday the GOP plan will aim to reduce the corporate tax rate to low- to mid-20 percent — a smaller cut than what President Donald Trump wants.   Ryan provided some specifics as the Republicans …

About 143 million Americans could be affected by a cyberattack on the credit monitoring company Equifax. The Atlanta-based company said Thursday the hackers obtained names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses of more than 40 percent of the U.S. population. “Based on the company’s investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from …

One of China’s biggest textile mills is planning its first North American factory in a small town in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas. Forrest City, located near the Mississippi River, is where the Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi plans a $410 million investment to spin yarn at a factory …

U.S. President Donald Trump is making a new push Wednesday for a tax overhaul, visiting the midwestern state of North Dakota to call for lower corporate and individual tax rates. Trump is pressing Congress to approve tax reforms in the coming months, with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin predicting that changes …

One of China’s biggest textile mills is planning its first North American factory in a small town in the southern U.S. state of Arkansas. VOA’s Ping Zhang went to have a look at local expectations and the promise of new jobs. …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser expressed optimism on Tuesday about reaching agreement on a revised free trade pact with South Korea, days after Trump suggested scrapping the deal with a key American ally. Senior U.S. lawmakers and America’s biggest business lobby urged Trump not to pull out of …

New York Fashion Week, the first in a series of global style weeks during September, is gearing up with designers ready to present their visions for Spring 2018. This season, more than 100 designers will showcase their latest creations in venues across New York on Thursday, although some flagship brands …

The second round of talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement ended Tuesday amid resistance to discussing Mexico’s low wages and large differences over dispute resolution mechanisms.   The head negotiators for all three countries at the talks in Mexico City said progress had been made, but U.S. …

Leaders of BRICS, an acronym for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa combined, on Monday expressed concerns over Pakistan-based militant groups and cited them as a problem for regional security. The economic bloc called for the supporters of these groups to be held accountable. The call …

As a parade of motorists rolled down their windows on the edges of a Houston Home Depot parking lot offering cash, the crowd of day laborers had slowly thinned to about a dozen by mid-morning.   The workers who were already gone were off to tear out soggy carpeting, carry …

Orders at U.S. factories tumbled in July, dragged down by a sharp fall in orders for civilian aircraft.   The Commerce Department said Tuesday that factory orders declined 3.3 percent in July, after a 3.2 percent gain last month. July’s decline was mostly because of a 19.2 percent drop in …

Chinese millennials with a dim view of their career and marriage prospects can wallow in despair with a range of teas such as “achieved-absolutely-nothing black tea,” and “my-ex’s-life-is-better-than-mine fruit tea.” While the drink names at the Sung chain of tea stalls are tongue-in-cheek, the sentiment they reflect is serious: A …

Amanda Spartz nearly did not renew her home’s flood insurance policy after her first year in Florida. Two hurricanes came close to the Fort Lauderdale suburbs last year, but they didn’t hit and her home isn’t in a high-risk flood zone. She figured she could put the $450 annual premium, …

Homelessness is a serious problem, and there are a variety of approaches to combating it. Faith Lapidus has the story of one effort to tackle the problem in Los Angeles, one tiny house at a time. …

U.S. home builders created more than a million units of housing in 2016. Often, older homes are demolished to make way for the new buildings, and things like doors, floors, windows and more are thrown away. Arash Arabasadi reports from Washington on one nonprofit that reclaims old materials and gives …

Hurricane Harvey may temporarily slow U.S. consumer spending, hurt national economic growth and boost unemployment for a while. Experts say it is very hard to accurately predict just how seriously Harvey will hurt Houston and the U.S. economy. But, as VOA’s Jim Randle reports, one expert on the Texas economy …

The U.S. unemployment rate rose slightly in August and the net gain in jobs was lower than economists predicted. Friday’s report from the Labor Department says the jobless rate rose one — tenth of one percent to 4.4 percent. While that is an increase, it is still close to a …

Aid groups have criticized efforts by European leaders to stem the flow of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, arguing Europe’s economy needs more workers. One nongovernmental organization in Italy has been trying to fill the gap by training African migrants to work as beekeepers and then pairing them with local honey …