Iran’s currency unexpectedly rallied Tuesday after weeks of depreciation linked to renewed American sanctions, sending Iranians rushing to exchange shops to cash in. In the Iranian capital, money exchange shops offered 135,000 rials for one U.S. dollar at one point, drawing crowds of onlookers and those wanting to trade. Only …

One of Australia’s biggest power companies says it will close a major coal-fired power station as it invests in renewable sources despite pressure from the government in Canberra to keep it open. “Run down, dangerous and expensive” is how an Australian newspaper described the Liddell power plant, adding that it …

As trade tensions between Beijing and Washington worsen, a debate is intensifying in China over the role private and state-owned enterprises play in the economy. The debate has even stoked fears that the communist-led government is preparing to nationalize private industries, analysts say. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership and especially over …

Amazon is boosting its minimum wage for all U.S. workers to $15 per hour starting next month. The company said Tuesday that the wage hike will benefit more than 350,000 workers, which includes full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions. It includes Whole Foods employees. Amazon’s hourly operations and customer service …

Auto parts output in Mexico will jump about 10 percent over the next three years as automakers scramble to adhere to stricter content rules laid out in a new North American trade deal, a top industry executive said on Monday. The United States and Canada reached an agreement on Sunday …

American dairy farmers get more access to the Canadian market. U.S. drug companies can fend off generic competition for a few more years. Automakers are under pressure to build more cars where workers earn decent wages. The North American trade agreement hammered out late Sunday between the United States and …

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement announced Monday is designed to eventually replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which U.S. President Donald Trump has long repudiated as harmful to American workers. But other than the name, how different is the new agreement from NAFTA, which went into effect in …

General Electric ousted its CEO, took a $23 billion charge and said it would fall short of profit forecasts this year, further signs that the century-old industrial conglomerate is struggling to turn around its vastly shrunken business.   H. Lawrence Culp Jr. will take over immediately as chairman and CEO …

Fresh from clinching an updated North American commerce pact, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Indian and Brazilian trade tactics, describing the latter as being “maybe the toughest in the world” in terms of protectionism. Addressing reporters at a White House event to celebrate the agreement of an updated …

The economy should grow at a healthy pace this year and next, though the Trump administration’s trade policy will likely act as a drag, a group of business economists said.  Growth should reach 2.9 percent this year, according to a survey of 51 economists by the National Association for Business …

Eurozone nations put Italy’s government under immediate pressure Monday over its budget proposals, which they said would pile more debt on Italians and skirt the rules of good fiscal housekeeping shared by the 19 nations using the euro currency. Italy’s populist government announced last week it would increase spending next …

Shares of Tesla jumped by almost 18 percent on Monday as Chief Executive Elon Musk settled a lawsuit that had threatened to force him out and said a surge in third-quarter production had driven it to the verge of profitability. Tesla fans cheered the signs of a manufacturing jump while …

Adam Mosseri, a veteran 10-year Facebook executive, will become the new head of Instagram, outgoing co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced Monday. “We are thrilled to hand over the reins to a product leader with a strong design background and a focus on craft and simplicity,” Systrom and Krieger …

Pakistan announced Monday a reduced estimated cost for revamping of the country’s nearly 1,900-kilometer colonial-era railway line under an ongoing bilateral economic development mega project funded by China. The upgrade to “standard gauge” of what is known as the Main Line-1 (ML-1), which connects the southern port city of Karachi …

It is the biggest-ever and the best trade deal in the world – that’s how U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration are touting a new trade pact they have reached with neighbors Canada and Mexico. “This landmark agreement will send cash and jobs pouring into the United …

After less than two years and a precipitous decline in the share price at General Electric, John Flannery is being ousted as chairman and CEO.   Flannery took over for longtime CEO Jeff Immelt in June 2017 with the company trying to re-establish its industrial roots, albeit a high-tech version …

After intense last-minute discussions ahead of a self-imposed midnight deadline, U.S. and Canadian officials announced late Sunday they reached a trade deal, allowing a modified three-way pact with Mexico to replace the nearly quarter-century old North American Free Trade Agreement.  The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – underpinning $1.2 trillion in annual …

After lengthy delays, an $8.2 billion revamp of a colonial-era rail line snaking from the Arabian Sea to the foothills of the Hindu Kush has become a test of Pakistan’s ability to rethink signature Chinese “Silk Road” projects due to debt concerns. The rail megaproject linking the coastal metropolis of …

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk have agreed to pay a total of $40 million and make a series of concessions to settle a government lawsuit alleging Musk duped investors with misleading statements about a proposed buyout of the company. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission allows Musk …

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland postponed her U.N. speech Saturday as free-trade talks between the U.S. and Canada intensified. Freeland had been scheduled to deliver Canada’s address to the General Assembly in New York, but Canada exchanged the slot with another country. Freeland may or may not give the …

U.S. consumer spending increased steadily in August, supporting expectations of solid economic growth in the third quarter, while a measure of underlying inflation remained at the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for a fourth straight month. Economists said Friday’s report from the Commerce Department should allay fears of the economy …

Tesla without Elon Musk at the wheel? To many of the electric car maker’s customers and investors, that would be unthinkable. But that’s what government securities regulators now want to see. The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal court to oust Musk as Tesla’s chairman and chief executive …

Italy’s stock market fell sharply Friday after the new populist, euroskeptic government announced a sharp public spending increase that will push the budget deficit to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product next year, risking a collision with the European Union. The benchmark FTSE MIB dropped 2.2 percent early Friday, hours …

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello flew to New York this week on a mission: convince potential tourists that the hurricane-ravaged island was ready for their return. But Puerto Rico’s recovery from last year’s Hurricane Maria has been a “mixed bag,” Rossello told Reuters on Thursday, acknowledging that the bankrupt U.S. territory, while improving, was far from …

U.S. securities regulators on Thursday accused Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk of fraud and sought to ban him as an officer of a public company, saying he made a series of “false and misleading” tweets about potentially taking the electric car company private last month. Musk, 47, is one of the highest-profile tech …