Tag: economy

Fear of change: Negative politics wins Australia election

Australia’s conservative government held on to power at national elections thanks to a highly effective negative campaign warning voters against the centre-left Labor Party’s large policy reform agenda, analysts said Sunday. Labor led every opinion poll in the two years prior to Saturday’s election but fell well short of a parliamentary majority after the vote, in a surprise result for the ruling Liberal-National coalition. Analysts said opposition leader Bill Shorten’s unpopularity with voters and his […]

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China fires back at US with tariff hike on goods worth $60 billion

by Poornima WEERASEKARA BEIJING, China (AFP) — China said Monday it will raise tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods from June 1, in retaliation for the latest round of US tariff hikes and Washington’s plans to target almost all Chinese imports. The announcement came after the latest round of US-China trade negotiations ended Friday without a deal, and after Washington increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products. US President Donald Trump […]

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Wall Street sags after record-breaking session

by Roland JACKSON NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street pulled back from records on Wednesday as investors digested mixed earnings reports ahead of more results from major tech companies. Elsewhere, Asian and European bourses were mixed as a global stocks rally failed to materialize a day after Tuesday’s record-breaking session in New York. Meanwhile, a drop in German business sentiment sent the euro plunging. US aviation giant Boeing told investors the crisis involving […]

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Oil prices jump as Trump cracks down on Iranian exports

by Richard CARTER NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Oil prices jumped to near six-month highs on Monday as the Trump administration cracked down on Iranian oil exports, announcing it would no longer grant waivers from US sanctions. The announcement came on an otherwise quiet day for global stock markets, with European bourses on holiday and Wall Street trading sideways ahead of major earnings releases later in the week. The White House announced it was […]

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Asian markets resume rally on earnings hopes, trade optimism

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asian markets chalked up healthy gains Monday as investors cheered a strong start to the US earnings season, while Donald Trump’s treasury chief indicated trade talks with China were in their end-stage. The gains put a regional equities rally back on track after last week’s stutter, supported by data last week showing a sharp jump in credit growth in China as easing measures kick in, while exports beat expectations and […]

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World’s first 5G phone released in South Korea

  by Claire Lee Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Telecom giant Samsung Electronics on Friday released the Galaxy S10 5G, the world’s first available smartphone with built-in fifth-generation communications, as South Korea seeks to build a lead in the transformative technology. On Wednesday the South became the first country to launch nationwide 5G services, with three superfast networks going live offering data speeds that allow users to download entire movies in less […]

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Japan business confidence drops in April: BoJ survey

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers fell sharply this quarter, the Bank of Japan’s quarterly business survey showed Monday, suggesting a stuttering recovery for the world’s third-largest economy. The central bank’s April Tankan report — a quarterly survey of about 10,000 companies — showed a reading of 12 among major manufacturers, a steep fall from 19 in the previous quarter. Economists say a slowdown in the Chinese economy was partly to blame, with […]

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Billionaire Buffett: nations must help economic ‘roadkill’

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Thursday that wealthy countries are obliged to take care of victims of the fast-moving global economy who become “roadkill.” Some companies and workers inevitably become obsolete in a changing capitalist economy, and jobs move to other industries, improving quality of life over time, Buffett said at a charity event in Texas. “You do take care of the people that for one reason or another can […]

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Japan’s factory output rises, unemployment stays low

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s closely watched factory output rose modestly in February with unemployment staying at record low levels, official data showed Friday, underscoring the patchy recovery of the world’s third largest economy. Factory output for February rose 1.4 percent month-on-month after a 3.4 percent dip in January, the trade and industry ministry said Friday. The reading compares with market expectations of a 1.0 percent rise. “The recovery in output is not strong, reflecting […]

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US-China trade talks open in Beijing

by Ryan MCMORROW BEIJING, China (AFP) — The United States and China open the latest round of their trade talks Thursday as the economic superpowers edge towards a deal to resolve a months-long spat that has rattled the global economy. The two-day meetings between US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin with China’s top economic official Liu He is the first since China put into law new measures seen as an olive […]

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Cradle of Venezuela oil industry is a scene of desolation

by Margioni BERMÚDEZ MENE GRANDE, Venezuela (AFP) — Greasy slicks continue to darken the ground in Mene Grande, a modest town where Venezuela’s oil boom was born more than a century ago. But now the days of crude glory are gone, replaced by desolation. The asphalt on the roads is worn down. Water, cooking gas and electricity are absent most of the time. Locals, who previously received generous oil-related salaries, have left the country because […]

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UAE regrets inclusion in EU tax blacklist

The United Arab Emirates has slammed a European Union decision to add it to a tax haven blacklist despite the Gulf state’s efforts to meet EU requirements. The EU on Tuesday added 10 countries to the list, created in 2017 as part of efforts to battle tax evasion by the wealthy. The UAE was among the new countries included. “This inclusion was made despite the UAE’s close cooperation with the EU on this issue and […]

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