BUSINESS

Asian stock markets are higher after Wall Street rose ahead of what traders hope will be the last Federal Reserve interest rate hike for some time.

South Korea has logged its biggest monthly trade deficit ever, at $12.7 billion in January, as exports of computer chips and other high-tech items sank and costs for importing oil and gas surged.

Hong Kong has banned CBD as a “dangerous drug” and imposed harsh penalties for its possession, forcing fledging businesses to shut down or revamp.

An Elon Musk tweet declaring he had the financing to take Tesla private in 2018 caused billions of dollars in investor damages after the deal collapsed.

Inflation is cooling, and parts of the economy appear to be weakening.

Bed Bath and Beyond released a new list this week of 87 stores that will close, including two in Central Florida.

General Motors has conditionally agreed to invest $650 million in Lithium Americas in a deal that will give GM exclusive access to the first phase of a mine planned near the Nevada-Oregon line with the largest known source of lithium in the U.S. The equity investment the companies announced jointly Tuesday is contingent on the project clearing the final environmental and legal challenges it faces in federal court in Reno, where conservationists and tribes are suing to block it.

Congress is going to take another look at legislation covering the rights of airline passengers.

Not long ago, Joe Biden and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy used to have breakfast together in the then-vice president’s home.

PayPal Inc. says it will trim about 7% of its total workforce, or about 2,000 full-time workers, as the digital payments company contends with a challenging economic environment.

Florida tourism leaders continue to fret over a lag in international visitors as the industry anticipates tourism numbers for the final three months of 2022.

The maker of ChatGPT is trying to curb its reputation as a freewheeling cheating machine with a new tool that can help teachers detect if a student or artificial intelligence wrote that homework.

A company working on technologies to bring back extinct species has attracted more investors.

Greece’s main opposition party says it won't participate in parliamentary votes until a general election is held later this year.

The U.S. is imposing sanctions on a group of people and organizations connected to Myanmar’s military regime as the two-year anniversary nears for the coup that removed the country’s civilian government.

Satellites, drones and airplanes equipped with infrared cameras will likely be the backbone of a new federal policy to fine the nation’s largest methane polluters.

American consumers are kicking off 2023 slightly less confident than they were at the end of last year as inflation and a potential recession continue to weigh on them.

Over his six years at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Esteban Gil watched colleague after colleague leave.

The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features.

Pay and benefits for America’s workers grew at a healthy but more gradual pace in the final three months of 2022, the third straight slowdown that could help reassure the Federal Reserve that wage gains won’t fuel higher inflation.

Two years after Myanmar's generals ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government, thousands of people have died in civil conflict and many more have been forced from their homes in a dire humanitarian crisis.

Federal environmental regulators have blocked a proposed Alaska mine heralded by backers as the most significant undeveloped copper and gold resource globally.

Pfizer surprised Wall Street on Tuesday by predicting bigger-than-expected sales drops this year for two key products: its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.

Adult Happy Meals and other limited-time promotions boosted traffic at McDonald’s restaurants during the fourth quarter despite higher prices.

Exxon Mobil posted record annual profits in 2022 as consumers globally struggled with high prices for gasoline, home heating and consumer goods.

China’s foreign minister has appealed to his Dutch counterpart to defend free trade after the Netherlands and Japan agreed to cooperate with U.S. restrictions on Chinese access to advanced processor chip technology due to security concerns.

Rising factory output led to strong U.S. sales at the end of last year, pushing General Motors’ fourth-quarter net income up 16% over the same period a year ago.

China’s government is accusing Washington of pursuing “technology hegemony,” as the United States has begun stepping up pressure on tech giant Huawei by blocking access to American suppliers.

Azerbaijan is appealing to the United Nations’ highest court to urgently order Armenia to stop the laying of land mines and booby traps on Azerbaijani territory and disclose the location of such explosives that already have been placed.

Asia’s richest man, Gautam Adani, has seen his companies shed $68 billion in market value in the past week after short-selling firm Hindenburg Research accused him of “pulling the largest con in corporate history.”.

Europe’s economy has scraped out meager gains at the end of last year as galloping inflation fed by high energy prices and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine deterred people from spending in shops and restaurants.

President Joe Biden has showcased a $292 million mega grant that'll be used to help build a rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River.

Experts are warning that Nigeria's push to replace its paper money with newly designed currency notes has created a shortage of cash.

French authorities say an estimated 1.27 million people have joined in nationwide protests against the government’s planned pension reforms.

Boeing bid farewell to an icon Tuesday: It delivered its final 747 jumbo jet.

Samsung Electronics says its profit for the last quarter plummeted nearly 70% as a weak global economy depressed demands for its consumer electronics products and computer memory chips.

The outlook for the global economy is growing slightly brighter as China eases its zero-COVID policies and the world shows surprising resilience in the face of high inflation, elevated interest rates and Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

The future of the nation's nearly $900 billion trucking industry could be shaped in California.

The Biden administration is estimating that it could collect as much as $4.7 billion from insurance companies with newer and tougher penalties for submitting improper charges on the taxpayers’ tab for Medicare Advantage care.

Ira “Bob” Born, a candy company executive known as the “Father of Peeps” for mechanizing the process to make the marshmallow chicks, has died.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld the state’s “Clean Car Rule,” which ties the state’s vehicle emission standards to California regulations.

American Express is launching a suite of financial service products for small businesses as it aims build up its presence in the small business sector.

The Treasury Department has announced plans to increase its borrowing during the first three months of 2023.

An investigation in Georgia looking into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election defeat is among a number of cases that pose legal problems for the former president.

The Federal Reserve is poised this week to raise its benchmark interest rate for an eighth time since March.

Ford is cutting prices on its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV by as much as $6,000 just weeks after market leader Tesla made similar moves.

China’s government has criticized U.S. controls on technology exports as a trade violation after Japan and the Netherlands agreed to join Washington in limiting Beijing’s access to materials to make advanced processor chips.

France’s national rail operator is recommending that passengers stay home if possible Tuesday to avoid labor strikes.

Official figures show that Germany’s economy shrank by 0.2% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three-month period.

Long-haul carrier Emirates has successfully flown a Boeing 777 on a test flight with one of its two engines entirely powered by so-called sustainable fuel.

Small businesses tell the BBC they are facing delays and losing money as overseas post is stopped.

Growing sales of an Indonesian nut called kenari is helping to reduce deforestation.

"What people fail to understand about Patagonia ... is that we are unapologetically a for-profit business," CEO Ryan Gellert told CNBC on Wednesday.

The investor launched a proxy fight, won a board seat and now endorses a strategic review at Griffon. Here's what might be next.

A "fiscal event" to outline funding to tackle the cost-of-living crisis is still due to take place.

The council notice prohibits activities until the park can show risk assessments on drowning.

Zara had said the name of House of Zana was "one small brush mark" from being the same as theirs.

The Washington Post’s personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary gives seven tips to protect yourself whether a recession is coming or not.

The supermarket chain has beaten a rival offer from EG Group which is owned by billionaire Issa brothers.

The high street fashion giant claims Darlington-based House of Zana is "conceptually identical".

The retailer is bringing back staff rewards after being forced to scrap them last year amid losses.

The pandemic has caused a massive backlog at the IRS. The Post's Michelle Singletary explains how your taxes might be impacted this year.

Bankers are resisting the bill, calling it government overreach and saying lawmakers are creating a problem with a non-issue in Arizona.

Indian tea start-ups are rediscovering indigenous ingredients for teas and infusions to stay ahead.

The Post’s personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary explains what to do if you haven’t filed your taxes consistently.

Using Venmo, PayPal and Cash App to accept payments for your small business? Here’s what the new tax law says.

Janus Wagonback - known as George - successfully predicted 10 draws to get the big win.

Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary explains why saving for retirement is the best way to invest in your future.

End of work-from-home guidance a boost for hospitality, while nightclubs welcome scrapping of covid passes.

How the football sticker maker survived a thieving tycoon and competition from Lycra-clad wrestlers.

Paytm validates a model of digitization in which losing on individual-transaction take rates is more than made up by gains from handling billions of them.

Paytm validates a model of digitization in which losing on individual-transaction take rates is more than made up by gains from handling billions of them.

Starbucks on Thursday reported record quarterly sales thanks to its robust U.S. business that helped make up for weakness in China and other markets. The Seattle coffee giant said its North American same-store sales — or sales at locations open at least a year — jumped 22% in the July-September period. But same-store sales in China fell 7% as coronavirus cases once again disrupted store traffic. But that was still short of Wall Street’s forecast of $8.2 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Adjusted for one-time items, Starbucks reported earnings of $1.00 per share.

Trump Business Washington Hotel FILE - This March 11, 2019 file photo, shows the north entrance of the Trump International in Washington. In addition to the payment delay, the Trump Organization also had to inject $27 million from other parts of its business to help the hotel, according to documents released by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The hotel is leased by the federal government to the Trump Organization. Trump's company has been trying to sell the 263-room hotel since the fall of 2019 but has struggled to find buyers.

As Sir Keir prepares for his first in-person conference as leader, we look at the promises he has made.

The deal will see founder Charlie Mullins offload his 90% stake in the group.

Activist investor Jana Partners could look for different routes to improve Vonage’s value.

Iain Anderson says he will work to "build a bridge" between the government and LGBT community.

His wife’s children and grandchildren don’t follow the rules of the ranch.

The two counts against Natasha Weeks, 29, were filed Aug. 18 and unsealed Monday in the U.S. District Court in Hammond, according to filings.

Pedestrian didn’t intend to interject, but “advice” was almost involuntary.

Ex-husband reveals that he had a son with another woman. Should reader tell her sons?

Small e-commerce entrepreneurs have thrived in lockdown - now big money wants to buy them out.

The star says she had a "psychotic break" after being attacked by a male record producer.

Since no official business can be conducted by the House until a speaker is elected, a lengthy balloting process could ensue while pressing matters such as the state budget and pandemic recovery are held in abeyance. Madigan, some Democrats contend privately, is counting at the very least on attrition to eventually return him as speaker as issues mount.

“I don’t want to see anyone go out of business,” he said. “That was never the intent. But I would rather see them go out of business than see them sell dogs unethically and defraud the public.”

In the first quarter of 2020, the total amount spent on lobbying, about $938 million, reached the highest on record, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The health sector, which spent $168 million on lobbying efforts, received $150 billion in coronavirus relief aid, according to Advisory Board. The airline industry, which spent $29 million on lobbying, received $32 billion in relief aid, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, and agribusiness, which spent $38 million, received $19 billion in aid, CRP said. The lobbying industry is arguably the U.S. government's oldest profession and is protected by the First Amendment. The misconception about lobbyists is that "we walk around with bags of money and say, 'Vote our way' or 'Oppose this.'

Paul Winfree, a former Trump White House director of budget policy, doubted that the holdup on the economic update was on Trump's radar. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, noted that the law requires the White House to update its budget forecast. In 2017, the Trump administration criticized the Obama administration for rosy expectations of growth during the Great Recession more than a decade ago. An updated forecast in the mid-session review could make the Trump White House a similar target for criticism. This is a White House that is in denial about the trajectory of the economy.___Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.

The government continues to ease the lockdown which was set to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in the country. Duterte made the televised announcement hours after the Department of Health reported a single-day spike of 539 infections, more than 60% of them in the congested capital. The Health Ministry's new figures on Friday show India now has 165,799 cases with 4,706 deaths, which both now exceed China. The figures announced by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought national totals to 11,402 infections and 269 deaths. China on Friday again reported no new daily increase in cases of coronavirus and no new deaths.

She is one of Californias two elected members of the Republican National Committee, and shes a co-chair of Women for Trump that is part of the presidents reelection campaign. She chaired the city's Republican Party before winning election as vice chair of the state GOP in 2013. The governor's policies and the policies of counties are falling more heavily on Democrats than Republicans because there are more Democrats than Republicans in the state, Dhillon said. Dhillon represented the California Republican Party in a successful challenge last year to a law aimed at requiring Trump to release his tax returns to be on the California ballot. In fact its reinforcing the bad image of the Republican Party," he said of Dhillon's recent lawsuits.

In this May 27, 2020, photo, health care worker Tonya Wilkes adjusts her mask while working at a Lowndes County coronavirus testing site in Hayneville, Ala. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)HAYNEVILLE, Ala. Sparsely populated Lowndes County, deep in Alabama's old plantation country, has the sad distinction of having both the states highest rate of COVID-19 cases and its worst unemployment rate. Lowndes and nearby poor, mostly black counties in rural Alabama are facing an increase in confirmed infections. I worry about Lowndes County, said Thomas. Dr. Scott Harris, the state health officer, said the state saw its highest number of new cases since the pandemic began in recent days.

South Africa has backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests. ___JOHANNESBURG South Africa says it has a backlog of nearly 100,000 unprocessed tests for the new coronavirus. The ministry says one of the latest people to die in South Africa was an employee with the National Health Laboratory Services. Indonesia had recorded more than 24,500 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday with nearly 1,500 deaths, the most fatalities in Southeast Asia. Thailand has had just single-digit increases in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases for most of May.

BEIJING Volkswagen is spending 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to expand its presence in Chinas electric car industry in the biggest foreign investment announced since the country's economy began to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. Volkswagen AG said Friday it will buy control of its electric vehicle venture with a Chinese partner in a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) deal. The ruling Communist Party scrapped limits on foreign ownership of electric vehicle makers in 2018 to promote industry development. By gaining management control, Volkswagen is paving the way for more electric models and infrastructure, the companys announcement said. GM, Nissan, BMW AG and other automakers also have joint ventures with Chinese partners to develop lower-cost electric models.

Shares fell Friday in Asia after Wall Streets rally petered out amid worries about flaring U.S.-China tensions. Benchmarks declined in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney but rose in Shanghai. U.S. and Chinese officials have been trading harsh rhetoric recently on everything from Hong Kong to the response to the coronavirus outbreak. Chinas National Peoples Congress on Thursday approved a national security law aimed at suppressing secessionist and subversive activity in Hong Kong, overriding any potential opposition by local lawmakers. Its like lighting a match.Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.6% to 23,007.15 on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2% to 21,877.89.

Civil protection workers move boxes of ventilators at the customs post in the Bosnia capital Sarajevo, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (AP Photo)SARAJEVO Bosnian authorities have detained two high-ranking state officials and the owner of a private company which imported 100 ventilators from China that were found to be useless for COVID-19 patients. The three are being investigated for money laundering, fraud, embezzlement of state funds and other crimes, the prosecutors were quoted as saying. The company owner has rejected accusations that he imported the ventilators at highly inflated prices. Bosnia, which went through a bloody civil war in the 1990s, is composed of the Muslim-Croat federation and a Serb entity.

FILE - In this Oct.23, 2019 file photo, tourists wait to see Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa, at the Louvre museum, in Paris. Iconic sites that are among some of France's biggest tourist draws won't reopen when the country lifts most of its coronavirus restrictions next week. Neither the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower nor the Versailles Palace will be reopening next week when France lifts many of its remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions. None of France's three most iconic tourist sites will reopen when the country lifts most of its remaining coronavirus lockdown restrictions next week. About 20%-30% of the museums rooms might be closed but of course the Mona Lisa will be open," Sacristin said.

Hotels, airlines, travel agents, tour operators, restaurants, local guides and car rentals saw income evaporate as lockdowns came into force. The dearth of tourists is particularly painful for some of the countries whose citizens and health care systems have suffered the most during the pandemic. Normally crowded travel hot spots such as Rome, Paris, Venice and Barcelona have at times appeared deserted in recent months. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has indicated that if conditions are right, he would soon like to remove 31 European countries from a travel warning issued in March. But with the risk of a second coronavirus wave and sudden lockdowns looming, Rascher said travelers might want to limit their horizons.

The headquarters of French carmaker Renault is pictured in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, Monday, May 25, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is set to unveil sweeping new measures to rescue France's car industry, hammered by virus lockdown and the resulting recession. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS Struggling French carmaker Renault on Friday announced 15,000 job cuts worldwide as part of a 2 billion-euro cost-cutting plan over three years. The group is also considering adaptation of its production capacities in Russia and announced the halt of Renault-branded oil-powered car activities in China. The French government is its single biggest shareholder with a 15-percent stake, and has been in talks on a 5 billion-euro loan guarantee.

The latest job-loss figures from the U.S. Labor Department bring to 41 million the running total of Americans who have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March. In New Zealand, health authorities have not found any new virus cases for a week. That increased the overall death toll to more than 1,300 and the number of cases to over 64,000. And first-time applications for unemployment benefits have fallen for eight straight weeks, as states gradually let stores, restaurants and other businesses reopen and the auto industry starts up factories again. Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 5.8 million people and killed about 360,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

They came in just ahead of that time, said Hus daughter Leah, who also works at the restaurant, the Royal Palace. Their duties will include greeting customers, serving drinks and dishes and returning used glasses and crockery. We will use them to make sure the 1.5 meters (5 feet) we need during the corona crisis sticks, Leah Hu said. We want to give them a normal name," said Leah Hu. They help us with the work we do, said Leah Hu.