By Sinead Carew NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The dollar was down but U.S. stock indexes pared their gains in the last day of a choppy trading week, after Donald Trump’s inaugural speech as U.S. President prompted investor concern about protectionist trade policies. U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly as Trump spoke but were still up on the day. The dollar, which has lost some of its momentum in recent weeks, was off 0.2 […]
Business
Uncertainty looms over China-US relations as Trump takes presidency
(Reuters) — Donald Trump, who takes office on Friday (January 20), has rattled Beijing with threats to impose tariffs on Chinese imports and by questioning the United States’ commitment to the “one China” policy, under which Washington acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of its territory. The billionaire businessman has also vowed to declare China a currency manipulator. Like the rest of the world China is watching and waiting to see what will […]
South Korean prosecutors undecided on further arrest warrant request for Samsung chief
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korea’s special prosecutor’s office said on Thursday (January 19) it had not decided whether to make another arrest warrant request for Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee after a court rejected its first. Earlier in the day, a South Korean court dismissed an arrest warrant against Lee, the head of the country’s largest conglomerate, amid a graft scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. The […]
VW ex-boss denies prior knowledge of pollution cheating
by Christina NEUHAUS Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – Former Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn said Thursday that he did not know the beleaguered German auto giant was engaging in systematic emissions cheating until shortly before the scam broke. Winterkorn told a parliamentary committee into the “dieselgate” scandal that “total clarity was and is the order of the day”, and that he was still trying to understand how the scandal could have happened. The 69-year-old resigned […]
Pound drops after Brexit backing from Trump
by Dario Thuburn LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Prime Minister Theresa May won endorsement from US President-elect Donald Trump over her Brexit course but sterling plunged on Monday on fears that Britain could be on a collision course with its EU allies. Trump said Britain leaving the EU would “end up as a great thing” and promised to work for a trade deal with post-Brexit Britain “quickly and done properly”, speaking in an interview […]
Tokyo stocks lower by break, Takata dives on US deal
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese shares ended the morning lower Monday as Takata was hit by the firm’s agreement to plead guilty to fraud and pay $1 billion to settle a deadly airbag scandal. The volatile stock dropped nearly 10 percent to 956 yen ($8.40), after soaring more than 16 percent Friday ahead of the expected announcement. At the lunch break, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei index was down 0.91 percent, or 175.38 points, at 19,111.90, while […]
Eight men own half the world’s wealth: Oxfam
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Eight men own the same wealth as half the world’s population, a level of inequality which “threatens to pull our societies apart”, Oxfam said on Monday ahead of the World Economic Forum opening in Davos. The wealth of the world’s poorest 3.6 billion people is the equivalent to the combined net worth of six American businessmen, one from Spain and another from Mexico. Picked from Forbes’ billionaires list, they […]
Lady Liberty shown as black woman on U.S. coin for first time
(Reuters) — The United States Mint has unveiled a $100 gold coin featuring an African-American woman as the face of Lady Liberty for the first time in the history of U.S. currency. The 24-karat gold coin, which marks the Mint’s 225th anniversary, was debuted on Thursday (January 12) in the Department of the Treasury’s Cash Room in Washington, D.C. It is the first in a series of gold coins featuring Lady Liberty, which has […]
Amazon to deliver 100,000 new US jobs
by Rob Lever Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Amazon on Thursday unveiled plans to create 100,000 US jobs over the next 18 months, as President-elect Donald Trump presses the business world to boost activities on American soil. The US tech and retail giant’s plan to bring its American workforce to over 280,000 is the latest — and largest — of a string of job-creation announcements as Trump prepares to take office on […]
US charges Fiat Chrysler with cheating emissions standards
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The United States on Thursday charged Fiat Chrysler with using software on its trucks to evade emissions standards on about 104,000 vehicles, an accusation the company immediately denied. The Environmental Protection Agency said the undisclosed software on the 2014 to 2016 models of Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500 trucks sold in the United States allowed the vehicles to emit more nitrogen oxides than permitted. Trading of FCA shares was […]
Pyongyang opens newly built bag factory
PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea held an opening ceremony for a newly built bag factory on Tuesday (January 10) in Pyongyang. Video provided by North Korea’s official news agency KCNA, which Reuters cannot independently verify, showed state officials and workers celebrating the opening of the new plant. “The Pyongyang Bag Factory is the culmination of love and was constructed with the respected supreme leader’s direct suggestions and his noble love of the future […]
Yahoo renames itself Altaba
(Reuters) — Yahoo’s getting a new name, and it’s shrinking its board. It’ll rename itself Altaba after it closes its $4.8 billion deal with Verizon. CEO Marissa Mayer will step down from its board, and several other directors including co-founder David Filo, will leave as well. The new name perhaps partly reflects where the company gets its value, Alibaba. Altaba will be a holding company. Its main assets: a 15 percent stake in Chinese e-commerce […]