The recent flurry of social and economic reform coming out of Saudi Arabia has left some Saudis ecstatic, others more circumspect, and a few conservatives bewildered or even angry. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman told a crowd of investors at a conference in late October that he was merely …

For Yu Kaiguang, harsh new United Nations sanctions on North Korea are a disaster. The trader in the Chinese border city of Dandong has seen business all but dry up, and he spends his days scrambling to obtain payment from the suddenly broke North Korean state companies to whom he …

A solid rebound for the job market in October as the U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs. Job gains were strong across the board, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent, its lowest level in 17 years. But, as Mil Arcega reports, American workers are not seeing any real growth …

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that the country and state oil company PDVSA will restructure its burgeoning foreign debt, even as he vowed to make a payment of more than $1 billion that came due on Thursday. The announcement did not put Venezuela or PDVSA into default, but suggests …

California Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers asked the U.S. government Friday for $7.4 billion to help rebuild after a cluster of fires tore through the heart of wine country, killing more than 40 people and leaving thousands without housing.   In a letter to the White House, Brown joined California’s …

The largest port complex in the nation has set goals to drastically reduce air pollution over the next several decades. The plan approved Thursday at a meeting of the governing boards of the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach outlines strategies for improving equipment and efficiency to eventually …

A Nigerian militant group whose attacks on energy facilities in the Niger Delta last year helped push Africa’s biggest economy into recession said Friday that it had ended its cease-fire. The Niger Delta Avengers announced a halt to hostilities in August 2016, although they carried out attacks in October and …

Venezuela’s cash-strapped government invited creditors to a Nov. 13 meeting in Caracas on Friday, after announcing plans to potentially restructure some $60 billion in bonds that sent the OPEC nation’s debt prices plunging. President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday vowed to make a $1.2 billion bond payment but said future payments …

In a warehouse outside Paris, university drop-out Celine Galland stacks  palettes and fills out an inventory sheet, part of a logistics apprenticeship she hopes will put a decade of short-term contracts and unemployment behind her. France’s jobless rate has sat stubbornly above 9 percent for nearly a decade. President Emmanuel …

The aggregate value of all cryptocurrencies hit a record high of over $200 billion this week, according to industry website Coinmarketcap, putting their reported market value at more than that of U.S. banking giant Citigroup. The record, set Wednesday, came as the biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, bitcoin, hit a record …

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound this year from 20-year lows in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund’s biannual report. The Washington-based organization warns that, despite the modest recovery, public debt is continuing to rise and could soon become unsustainable in some African countries. Henry Ridgwell …

Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rebound this year from 20-year lows in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund’s biannual report. The Washington-based organization warns that, despite the modest recovery, public debt is continuing to rise and could soon become unsustainable in some African countries. Henry Ridgwell …

Japan is deepening its influence in the Philippines to vie with regional rival China, a welcome boost for an infrastructure overhaul program in the relatively poor Southeast Asian country and for Japanese geopolitical ambitions. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this week to discuss “concrete, …

President Donald Trump is making his mark on the US Federal Reserve, naming former investment manager and central bank governor Jerome Powell to replace Janet Yellen, whose term expires in February. If confirmed by the Senate, the next chairman of the Federal Reserve will oversee U.S. monetary policy and maintain …

Venezuela on Thursday announced plans to restructure its burgeoning foreign debt, a move that may lead to a default by the cash-strapped OPEC nation whose collapsing socialist economy has left its population struggling to find food and medicine. President Nicolas Maduro vowed to make a $1.1 billion payment on a …

Officials in the U.S. and Puerto Rico gave differing views Thursday on when power will be fully restored to the U.S. territory after Hurricane Maria hit as a Category 4 storm more than a month ago. Ricardo Ramos, director of the state-owned power company, said the utility has restored 35 …

White House advisor and daughter of President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, has urged nations to reverse a decline of women working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) during a Tokyo speech just two days ahead of her father’s first visit to Asia as president. “Women today represent only 13 …

A $100 billion semiconductor company based in Singapore will legally relocate its home address to the United States, President Donald Trump announced Thursday. Broadcom Limited, which manufactures communications chips around the world, said it would relocate its legal address to Delaware once shareholders approve the move, bringing $20 billion in …

Members of the U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday made three different recommendations for restricting solar cell and panel imports on Tuesday, giving President Donald Trump a range of choices to address injury to domestic producers. The recommendations range from an immediate 35 percent tariff on all imported panels to …

Property damage claims from a series of deadly October wildfires now exceed $3.3 billion, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said Tuesday. The figure represented claims for homes and businesses insured by 15 companies and was more than triple the previous estimate of $1 billion. Jones said the number would continue …

Britain is accelerating preparations for “all eventualities” when it leaves the European Union, but both sides are hopeful an agreement on stepping up talks to unravel more than 40 years of partnership will be sealed soon. With only 17 months remaining until Britain’s expected departure, the slow pace of talks …

Mexico announced Tuesday that its economy shrank 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous period amid uncertainty related to renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement and local slowdowns caused by natural disasters.   Alfredo Coutino, Latin America director at Moody’s Analytics, said the contraction came …

ExxonMobil has promised to upgrade pollution controls at eight of its manufacturing facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast under an agreement it reached with federal authorities. The petrochemical giant will spend about $300 million to install pollution controls at the plants to settle allegations that it violated U.S. environmental law …

Bangladesh will extend an agreement to protect garment workers drawn up in the wake of the Rana Plaza disaster and embed it into national regulations, promising more stringent safety checks for its 4 million apparel workers, a labor union said. Poor working conditions and low wages have long been a …

A grand plan once spearheaded by Jared Kushner to rescue the biggest deal in his career by razing a Fifth Avenue skyscraper and building luxury apartments in its place is all but dead, the co-owner of the building said Tuesday. The comments from Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steven Roth suggest …