The United States and Japan have agreed to begin negotiations on a bilateral free-trade agreement, reducing the prospect that Washington might impose tariffs against another trading partner. “We’ve agreed today to start trade negotiations between the United States and Japan,” U.S. President Donald Trump said at a summit with Japanese …

Ford chief Jim Hackett on Wednesday ramped up his warnings about the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, saying his company was seeing profits slashed by $1 billion. Hackett said the global automaker could face more damage if the trade confrontations were not resolved quickly. “The metals tariffs took about …

Somalia’s finance minister says World Bank grants to the government are a sign the country has “trustable leadership” again after decades of chaos and corruption. The World Bank said Tuesday it will provide $80 million in grants to Somalia’s federal government, the bank’s first direct grants to a Somali central …

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised a key interest rate for the third time this year in response to a strong U.S. economy and signaled that it expected to maintain a pace of gradual rate hikes. The Fed lifted its short-term rate — a benchmark for many consumer and business …

The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development warns the world economy remains fragile, one decade after the collapse of the U.S. financial titan Lehman Brothers triggered a global economic crisis. In its report Trade and Development Report 2018: Power, Platforms and the Free Trade Delusion, UNCTAD says the world economy …

Trade conflicts, rising debt and the potential impact from rising interest rates in the U.S. will likely dampen growth in the coming year, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday in an update of its regional economic outlook report.  The Manila, Philippines-based regional lender said Wednesday that it expects economic growth …

After losing his job with a foreign food company in March, Alexander Costa surveyed Brazil’s anemic labor market and decided to start selling cheap lunches by the beach in Rio de Janeiro to try and provide for his young family. “I could have stayed home, looking for work, sending out …

When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook in 2012, the photo-sharing startup’s fiercely loyal fans worried about what would happen to their beloved app under the social media giant’s wings.  None of their worst fears materialized. But now that its founders have announced they are leaving in …

A $500 million data drive aims to improve the harvests of hundreds of millions of farmers worldwide as rising hunger levels threaten a global goal to end hunger by 2030, organizations involved in the initiative said Tuesday. Developing countries and donors launched the “50 X 2030” scheme on the sidelines …

An update of Peru’s trade agreement with China could be completed as soon as 2020, and certainly by the time President Martin Vizcarra leaves office, Peruvian Trade Minister Roger Valencia said Tuesday. Peru and its top trade partner China vowed to update their 2010 bilateral free trade deal shortly after …

French President Emmanuel Macron declared Tuesday in a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly that France would no longer accept “commercial agreements” with countries that do not “respect” the Paris climate accord, a clear shot at the United States, the only country that has not agreed to the …

Nike caused an uproar this month with its ad featuring former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick that debuted just as the football season was about to begin. But the shoe maker’s stock is up and sales have been steady. The furor seems to have largely died down as the company …

 Unions called a nationwide strike Tuesday to protest Argentina’s economic crisis, and walkouts grounded airline flights, paralyzed bus and train lines and forced the closure of the main agricultural port.   Many workers stayed home as the strike made commuting a puzzle, and some demonstrators blocked highways. Banks, courts and …

In early September, James Lukuku staged a one-person protest in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, against his country’s relationship with China. Lukuku brandished a homemade sign that read: “China EQUALS Hitler.” Scrawled on his T-shirt was a plea to U.S. President Donald Trump for help. “I want every Zambian to rise and …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade official said on Tuesday changing China’s economic policies to become more market-oriented “is not going to be easy” even with tariffs now in place on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, in rare public remarks at the Concordia Summit, …

Jordan’s cabinet on Tuesday sent to parliament an IMF-backed draft tax bill, a main plank of austerity measures to ease rising public debt, an issue that caused street protests last summer, officials said. The government hopes to push through the new legislation within two months despite opposition from many deputies, …

The five remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal have agreed to establish a special payment system to allow companies to continue doing business with the regime, bypassing new sanctions imposed by the United States. Envoys from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran issued a statement late Monday from …

The co-founders of Instagram are resigning their positions with the social media company.   Chief Executive Kevin Systrom said in a statement late Monday that he and Mike Krieger plan to leave the company in the next few weeks.   Krieger is chief technical officer. They founded the photo-sharing app …

The principality of Liechtenstein kicked off a campaign on Monday to enlist the global financial sector to fight modern slavery, flexing its role as a center of world wealth management to tap the clout of banks, hedge funds and investors. The financially focused effort aims to fight money laundering by …

U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed a revised free trade agreement between the two countries Monday afternoon in New York, following their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). “I’m very excited about our new trade agreement,” Trump said during …

Iran’s currency has hit another record low against the dollar, six weeks before the United States is due to reimpose sanctions on Iranian oil exports that are Tehran’s main revenue source. The Bonbast.com website, which tracks Iran’s unofficial exchange rates, showed a new low of 16,000 tomans, or 160,000 rials, …

A gluten-free grain that grows in Africa’s impoverished and semi-arid Sahel region is taking off as a health food in New York, the Senegalese chef who masterminded its revival said Monday, outlining plans to almost double production by 2023. Pierre Thiam began exporting fonio to New York last year, hoping …

Greece are using drones to buzz over boats running day trips on the Aegean at the start of a new effort aimed at cracking down on rampant tax evasion at holiday hotspots. With the black economy by some accounts representing about a quarter of national output in a country which …

Venezuela’s new digital fuel payment system got off to a slow start on Monday, as most drivers paid with cash and only a handful of gas stations were equipped with the system that President Nicolas Maduro says will limit fuel smuggling. The new system entails Venezuelans applying for and using …

The “gig” economy might not be the new frontier for America’s workforce after all. From Uber to TaskRabbit to YourMechanic, so-called gig work has been widely seen as ideal for people who want the flexibility and independence that traditional jobs don’t offer. Yet the evidence is growing that over time, …