A torrid summer and devastating fires across central Chile’s wine belt have forced an earlier harvest this year, but there are no signs that volume or flavor will be affected, local industry experts said on Thursday. High temperatures can lead to excessive sugar and alcohol in the grapes and the …

Serbian President-elect Aleksandar Vucic likes to use the past to explain the future. In 1947, as Josip Broz Tito was consolidating Yugoslavia, he built a railway through Bosnia that linked Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks, friend and foe after World War II. “Tito wasn’t stupid,” Vucic told Reuters. “People had …

President Donald Trump on Friday chose Kevin Hassett, an economics adviser to past Republican presidential candidates, to be chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Hassett will play a critical role in analyzing the performance of the economy and impact of policy changes. Hassett is the research director …

The U.S. economy had a net gain of 98,000 jobs in March, which is much weaker job growth than most economists expected. Payroll growth was slowed by stormy weather in March after unusually good weather helped growth in January and February, according to economist Jed Kolko, of the job web …

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held out hope Thursday that the Trump administration will revive the U.S. Export-Import bank’s full lending powers, saying the institution is part of its “trade toolbox” to boost exports. The U.S. government trade lender has been hobbled for the better part of two years by …

When the U.S. president hosts a foreign leader at his home, it can be seen as a sign of hospitality, an indicator of warm relations, and a chance to put American culture on display. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously hosted the king and queen of England at his Hyde Park …

Conservative activist groups that generally support Republicans but oppose a pro-export, anti-import Republican tax proposal released a study on Thursday estimating its impact on individual U.S. states, underscoring the party’s division over taxes. The two activist groups, backed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, reported that seven states won …

The White House said Thursday that President Donald Trump plans to nominate a Lyft executive as under secretary of transportation for policy. Derek Kan is general manager for San Francisco-based ride services company Lyft in Southern California. He previously was policy adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, the husband …

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said he backed bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that would revamp Wall Street banks by splitting their consumer-lending businesses from their investment arms. The National Economic Council director, also a former Goldman Sachs president, expressed support to lawmakers for a banking …

Protesters in Argentina clashed with police during marches over government austerity measures on Thursday as labor unions challenged President Mauricio Macri in the first general strike since he took office 16 months ago. Security forces used high-powered water cannon and tear gas to control picketers who had blocked the Pan-American …

Brazilian President Michel Temer plans to water down its landmark pension reform proposal to ease lawmakers’ resistance to the controversial bill key to rebalance the government’s depleted finances. Temer said in a radio interview on Thursday he has authorized the lawmaker sponsoring the plan to alter its terms as long …

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi insisted Thursday that the bank’s massive stimulus efforts are still needed even though the 19-country eurozone’s economy is strengthening. “The recovery is progressing and now may be gaining momentum,” Draghi said in a speech at a conference at Frankfurt’s Goethe University. He cautioned, however, …

The Afghan government is trying to grab the attention of President Donald Trump and gain greater U.S. support by dangling its massive and untouched wealth of minerals, including lithium, the silvery metal used in mobile phone and computer batteries that is considered essential to modern life. But tapping into that …

More gigawatts of renewable energy were installed worldwide in 2016 than in any previous year, according to a new report. The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2017 report shows the costs of solar and wind energy continue to fall dramatically. But it also documents a slowdown in investment in …

Strong trade ties between the United States and nations in Southeast Asia are under a cloud as a U.S. investigation into trade imbalances gets underway. Regional governments say the apparent policy shift has spurred concern and anxiety. A 90-day investigation by the U.S. Commerce Department of countries with large trade …

Struggling U.S. farmers are pressing their luck with soybeans this spring, sowing record acreage even though the world is awash with the oilseed, as demand from China offers a potential lifeline. Soybean plantings could surpass corn for the first time this year, with rising exports holding up prices and providing …

Many companies aim for “Best in Class” status, but some are seeking another “B” — B corporation certification. Certified B corporations, or “B corps,” address the growing consumer interest in supporting socially and environmentally responsible companies. B corps are essentially for-profit companies that behave more like nonprofits, tackling global issues …

Many companies aim for B Corporation certification. Certified “B corps” address the growing demand for social and environmental responsibility. And more consumers are letting their wallets do the talking, aligning with business that complement their personal values. VOA’s Tina Trinh reports on the category of companies called B corps. …

Mexico’s central bank chief said Wednesday the bank altered course on how to protect the peso after a couple of tweets by U.S. President Donald Trump in early January pummeled the currency to near historic lows and wiped out the effect of a $2 billion currency intervention. The Banco de …

Asia’s developing economies will see steady growth this year and the next, though the evolving policies of President Donald Trump’s administration are a major uncertainty, the Asian Development Bank said in a report Thursday. The Manila, Philippines-based lender forecast growth in developing Asia at 5.7 percent in 2017 — unchanged …

With 70 percent of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, getting urban planning right is crucial to ensuring future cities are safe, resilient and fair places, particularly for the poorest residents, experts said Wednesday. As Africa urbanizes, its cities will need 700 million more homes, 310,000 …

Rome is investing millions of euros in environmentally friendly, cost-saving LED street-lighting, but some residents of the Eternal City are unhappy to lose the softer, golden glow of the old sodium lamps. “This LED light is really bright, really blue, it feels like a hospital light,” said Monica Larner, an …

Women are just as ambitious as men at the start of their careers but this falters if companies fail to encourage them, according to a study released Wednesday that sought to dispel the myth of a gender ambition gap. A survey by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) of 200,000 employees, …

The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority on Wednesday said it was slashing by nearly one third the salaries of tens of thousands of government employees in the Gaza Strip who have been sitting idly since the rival Hamas militant group took over the coastal territory a decade ago. The decision deepened the …

Robert Lighthizer has long complained that the United States dithered in the face of abusive Chinese trade policies, allowing its trade gap with Beijing to explode and American factories to close. Now, the veteran trade lawyer may have a chance to do something about it. As President Donald Trump’s choice …