For Mazen Rahhal, a shop owner in a bustling district of Beirut, Lebanon’s economy has seldom felt more precarious. In one store, he sells clothes at a fraction of their previous price. Another, which he rented to a rival business, now lies empty. Years of gradual stagnation have in 2018 …

U.S. and Mexican officials postponed ministerial talks aiming for a breakthrough in the revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) until Wednesday, although one member of the incoming Mexican government met U.S. officials on Tuesday. Since restarting last month, the talks have focused on ironing out differences between …

Large real-estate developments in India should be subject to the same scrutiny as industrial projects given their environmental impact, according to city planners and campaigners. A proposal to redevelop parts of New Delhi that required the felling of thousands of trees recently provoked fierce protests, court petitions and night patrols …

Washington is prepared to impose more economic pain on Russia if it does not change its behavior, Trump administration officials said on Tuesday, as U.S. lawmakers pushed for stronger measures to counteract “malign” Russian activities. “Though Russia’s malign activities continue, we believe its adventurism undoubtedly has been checked by the …

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration weakened environmental controls on coal production Tuesday, overturning national regulations set by his predecessor, former President Barack Obama. The Environmental Protection Agency said it will now allow individual coal-producing states to set their own rules for carbon emissions rather than have to adhere to an …

British and European Union negotiators expressed cautious optimism Tuesday that they would reach a deal to prevent a disorderly U.K. exit from the bloc, saying talks will be intensified and take place “continuously” over the next few crucial months. After meeting U.K. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab in Brussels, chief EU …

Claudio Belotti knows he cut the denim that became the jeans Meghan Markle wore on one of her first outings as the fiancee of Britain’s Prince Harry.   That’s because he cuts all of the fabric for Hiut Denim Co., a 7-year-old company that makes jeans in Cardigan, Wales. Belotti …

South Africa’s state-owned Land Bank said on Monday a plan to allow the state to seize land without compensation could trigger defaults that could cost the government 41 billion rand ($2.8 billion) if the bank’s rights as a creditor are not protected. Land Bank is a specialist bank providing financial …

The bull market in U.S. stocks is about to become the longest in history.   If stocks don’t drop significantly by the close of trading Wednesday, the bull market that began in March 2009 will have lasted nine years, five months and 13 days, a record that few would have …

The space company of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen on Monday unveiled details of medium-lift rockets and a reusable space cargo plane it is developing, injecting more competition into the lucrative launch services market. With its rockets, Allen’s Stratolaunch Systems is trying to cash in on higher demand in the …

Cuba’s decision to change its constitution and allow private property ownership has been shrugged off by small farmers, who say the island will never feed itself without far broader reform of state-run agriculture. Economists would expect farmers to welcome the shift towards private property after decades of strict government control …

Foreign-brand automakers with U.S. plants do not support Trump administration rules to raise the amount of local content in North American-made vehicles, a group representing companies including Toyota, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai has told key U.S. lawmakers. Talks between Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer …

Venezuelans struggled Monday to calculate prices of food and household goods as a new currency scheme aimed at taming runaway inflation went into effect. The new currency, known as the “sovereign bolivar,” is valued at one to 100,000 of the old bolivars, in effect chopping five zeros off of existing …

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was “not thrilled” with the Federal Reserve under Chairman Jerome Powell for raising interest rates and said the U.S. central bank should do more to help him to boost the economy. In the middle of international trade disputes, Trump in an interview …

China will continue to provide aid to Tonga and other countries in the Pacific to help them achieve sustainable development, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday, amid a mounting debt problem in the region. Tonga’s prime minister on Friday backed down on calls for Pacific island nations to collectively lobby …

Venezuela on Monday slashed five zeros from prices as part of a broad economic plan that President Nicolas Maduro says will tame hyperinflation but critics call another raft of failed socialist policies that will push the chaotic country deeper into crisis. Streets were quiet and shops were closed due to …

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office Monday began six days of public hearings on President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on a wider array of Chinese imports, affecting an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. More than 1,300 written comments have been submitted to the trade office, with most …

Beverage giant PepsiCo on Monday purchased Israel’s fizzy drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion, a boon for a company that has enjoyed a resurgence after being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters in the past. PepsiCo said it was acquiring all SodaStream’s outstanding shares at $144 per share, a 32 percent premium …

U.S. producer ConocoPhillips on Monday said Venezuela’s PDVSA agreed to pay $2 billion to settle an arbitration award, suspending a dispute that blocked the state-run oil firm from exporting crude from most of its key Caribbean facilities. Venezuela’s crude production, a major source of revenue, has fallen to a six-decade …

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says he hopes China will understand his country’s “internal fiscal problems” as he seeks to renegotiate billions of dollars worth of Beijing-funded projects. Mahathir spoke Monday in Beijing during a joint news conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Before traveling to China last week, Mahathir …

There’ll be no dancing in the moonlit streets of Athens. For all the official pronouncements that Greece’s eight-year crisis will be over as its third and last bailout program ends Monday, few Greeks see cause for celebration.   Undeniably, the economy is once again growing modestly, state finances are improving, …

Iran’s oil minister says France’s oil giant Total SA has pulled out of Iran after cancelling its $5 billion, 20-year agreement to develop the country’s massive South Pars offshore natural gas field over renewed U.S. sanctions. The parliament’s website ICANA.ir quoted Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh as saying on Monday that …

Vietnam is trying to get a grip on inflation that might otherwise threaten its quick economic growth again as it did a decade ago, analysts and domestic media say. Consumer prices in June were 4.67 percent higher than in the same month last year following an increase of 3.29 percent …

“For the first time since early 2010, Greece can stand on its own feet,” the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) rescue fund said as Athens exited its final, three-year international bailout program on Monday. The ESM allocated about $71 billion over the past three years, after an agreement was reached in …

Uncertainty reigned in Venezuela Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro unveiled a major economic reform plan aimed at halting the spiraling hyperinflation that has thrown the oil-rich, cash-poor South American country into chaos. Ahead of a major currency overhaul Monday, when Caracas will start issuing new banknotes after slashing five zeroes …