The head of the U.S. Small Business Administration urged American businessmen and entrepreneurs to enter the global market, telling the United Nations on Thursday that just 1 percent of small businesses are currently exporting overseas. Linda McMahon said the nearly 29 million small businesses in America “are the engine of our economy” and create two…
read moreThe sister of White House adviser Jared Kushner won’t be attending an investor conference in China this weekend as reported after she was criticized for trying to raise money there last weekend, using the lure of a U.S. visa program. Nicole Kushner Meyer, who had been representing her family’s company in China, came under fire…
read morePolitical acrimony over President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to fire FBI Director James Comey is playing into the hands of a longtime U.S. adversary, several current and former U.S. intelligence officials say. “From a geopolitical standpoint, the real winner is Russia,” said Luke Hartig, a former senior director at the National Security Council under former…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. trade representative easily cleared a Senate hurdle Thursday despite clear frustration among some Republicans with the administration on trade. The Senate voted 81-15 to advance Robert Lighthizer’s nomination. A final confirmation vote could come as early as Thursday afternoon. Lighthizer served in the Reagan administration and has…
read moreThe acting head of the FBI said President Donald Trump’s firing of former agency director James Comey has had no impact on an ongoing Russia investigation, but declined to comment on an eye-popping claim the president made in a letter notifying Comey of his dismissal. “The world of the men and women of the FBI…
read moreThe United States’ top intelligence official believes the military conflict in Afghanistan will likely deteriorate in the coming years, even if the U.S. commits more troops to the 16 year-old fight. Speaking Thursday during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on global threats, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said the Taliban is likely to make…
read morePresident Donald Trump asserts in a NBC-TV interview he would have fired FBI chief James Comey even if Justice Department officials had not recommended it, calling Comey a show-off. “He’s a showboat. He’s a grandstander. The FBI has been in turmoil,” Trump said to the network in his first interview since his surprise dismissal on…
read moreThe answer is corn. The question is, what really changed U.S. President Donald Trump’s mind about saving the North American Free Trade Agreement and trying to revise it only hours after he said the United States was pulling out of the treaty? Edward Goldberg, professor at NYU’s School of Professional Studies, Center for Global Affairs,…
read moreIraq and Algeria support the extension of oil production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC producers through the end of the year to try to boost prices, they said in a joint statement Thursday. The oil ministers of the two countries held a press conference in Baghdad where Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said “there…
read moreUber is launching its private ride-hailing service in the Myanmar commercial capital of Yangon on Thursday, aiming to tap into one of the world’s youngest and fastest-growing online markets. The launch follows Singapore-based GrabTaxi’s debut by about two months. Uber is one of the world’s largest on-demand transportation platforms. It is seeking an alliance with…
read moreHousing foreclosure activity in the United States dropped to the lowest level since 2005 last month, according to a business research group. ATTOM Data Solutions tracks default notices, auctions and bank repossessions across the nation and says the number of actions dropped 23 percent from a year ago. That means more than 77,000 homeowners missed…
read moreChina’s President Xi Jinping initiated the ambitious Belt and Road development plan but it has become a world plan not tied to his presidency, the Commerce Ministry said Wednesday, days before Xi hosts a global forum on the initiative. The forum in Beijing next week will draw heads of state to discuss Xi’s plan to…
read moreMembers of Ohio’s growing African immigrant community say they’re hopeful a decade-long wait for their own state advocacy board is almost over. Immigrant groups backing the board say they’ve submitted names of potential commission members several times over the years to the House and Senate, which then make recommendations to the governor for appointment. The…
read moreEarlier this year, engineers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. who track rivals’ prices online got a rude surprise: the technology they were using to check Amazon.com several million times a day suddenly stopped working. Losing access to Amazon.com Inc.’s data was no small matter. Like most big retailers, Wal-Mart relies on computer programs that scan prices…
read moreJustice Department leaders are interviewing Wednesday four veteran law enforcement and intelligence officials for the role of interim FBI director, officials said. The position is currently held by Andrew McCabe, top deputy to ex-FBI Director James Comey, whom President Donald Trump fired on Tuesday evening. Justice Department officials identified the contenders as Adam…
read moreBrazil’s economy is starting to “breathe” after two years of recession and slowing inflation will allow interest rates to come down further, President Michel Temer said on Wednesday at the enacting of new rules to draw investments in ports. “The economy is starting to show signs of growth, in the retail sector and in agribusiness,”…
read morePeru’s poverty rate dipped by 1.1 percentage points in 2016 to 20.7 percent, government data showed Wednesday, in line with modest declines seen the prior two years after several years of sharp poverty reduction. In 2016, 264,000 Peruvians left poverty, more than the 221,000 who emerged from poverty in 2015 but fewer than the 289,000…
read moreCuba represents a “huge” but challenging opportunity for U.S. cruise, airline and hotel companies as American visitors to the Caribbean island could increase as much as sevenfold by 2025, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group. As many as 2 million Americans could visit up from 285,000 last year, excluding Cuban Americans, the…
read moreNoting he had just gotten his driver’s license the last time Congress overhauled the nation’s tax system, House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday insisted lawmakers will act soon even as he deals with deep divisions in his own Republican Party. During a roundtable discussion Wednesday at a central Ohio contract packaging plant, Ryan focused…
read moreThe director of the people-counting U.S. Census Bureau is leaving his job just as the agency steps up its once-a-decade tally, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson was expected to leave the agency at the end of the year but instead will depart June 30, according to a government…
read moreStudents at a university in Florida booed and jeered Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as she tried to speak during their graduation ceremony Wednesday. Bethune-Cookman University President Edison Jackson warned students to be quiet, to little effect. “If this behavior continues, your degrees will be mailed to you,” he told students at the commencement ceremony in…
read moreBarely two days into crafting a new bill to roll back Obamacare, U.S. Senate Republicans were already on the defensive on Tuesday over the absence of any women in their core working group. After a meeting of the Senate health care group, lawmakers were bombarded with questions as to why no women were named to…
read more
