Electric trucks are having a moment in the spotlight, but they won’t replace diesel-powered trucks in big numbers until they overcome costs and other limitations. Tesla Inc. plans to unveil a semitractor-trailer this week, its first foray into trucking after more than a decade of making cars and SUVs. German automaker Daimler AG showed off…
read moreRepublicans who control two-thirds of the nation’s governorships gathered Wednesday in America’s largest red state, in part to strategize about how to maintain their political dominance. Electoral defeats last week, unfulfilled congressional promises and President Donald Trump’s plummeting popularity had some attendees concerned about a shifting political landscape. Vice President Mike Pence was to address…
read moreCritics are accusing President Donald Trump of abandoning America’s principles of human rights and press freedom during his just-completed trip to Asia. In separate critiques, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders charged Trump with effectively condoning rights abuses and anti-press practices of some of Asia’s most notorious authoritarian regimes. “The United States’ voice on…
read moreVenice is planning to divert massive cruise liners. Barcelona has cracked down on apartment rentals. Both are at the forefront of efforts to get a grip on “overtourism,” a phenomenon that can disrupt communities, imperil fragile buildings and harm the experience of travelers. Tourism-phobia has become prevalent in popular destinations, particularly major cities in Europe…
read moreAirbus announced on Wednesday that it will sell 430 airplanes to U.S. firm Indigo Partners for $49.5 billion in the European firm’s biggest deal ever. The announcement came at the Dubai Air Show and the deal includes 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos. The airlines that use the aircraft will include Frontier Airlines, JetSMART of Chile,…
read moreRecent accusations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is impacting the upper echelons of the business world. The “Weinstein Effect” has men in powerful positions facing similar accusations. It is also increasing awareness about where the line is between friendly banter to more uncomfortable, and sometimes criminal motives. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti takes…
read moreMexico will respond to U.S. demands for changes in content rules for autos and an automatic expiration clause in the NAFTA trade deal when negotiations on reworking the accord begin again this week, a top government official said on Tuesday. A fifth round of talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement starts on…
read moreU.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday linked repealing a key component of Obamacare to their ambitious tax-cut plan, raising new political risks and uncertainties for the tax measure that financial markets have been monitoring closely for months. In comments that infuriated Democrats and left some senior Republicans unsure of what will come next, Senate Republican leader…
read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives passed a $700 billion defense policy bill on Tuesday, backing President Donald Trump’s call for a bigger, stronger military, but failing to decide how to fund the massive spending increase. The Republican-controlled House voted 356-70 for the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which authorizes the level of defense…
read moreThe sale of Uranium One, a Canadian firm with rights to mine U.S. uranium, to a Russian company is in the news again with the Department of Justice signaling it could appoint a special counsel to look into the matter. U.S. President Donald Trump and his supporters have criticized the deal and suggested former secretary…
read moreU.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday that he believes NAFTA negotiations will produce “some sort” of a deal for President Donald Trump to evaluate but repeated his warnings that the United States will walk away from the trade pact if key problems are unresolved. Ross, speaking before the start of a fifth round…
read moreA proposal by the U.S. Senate to change the way shares in startup companies are taxed incited panic and dread in Silicon Valley on Monday, with startup founders and investors warning of nothing less than the demise of their industry should the proposal become law. The provision in the Senate’s tax reform plan, which appeared…
read moreAttorney General Jeff Sessions returns to Capitol Hill this week amid growing evidence of contacts between Russians and associates of President Donald Trump, bracing for an onslaught of lawmaker questions about how much he knew of that outreach during last year’s White House campaign. The appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday follows a…
read moreGeneral Electric’s new Chief Executive John Flannery on Monday outlined steps that will turn the biggest U.S. industrial conglomerate into a smaller, more focused company, surprising some investors who sold the company’s shares to a five-year low. Flannery’s plan to shrink GE’s multi-industry array of businesses was a reversal of the deal-driven empire building of…
read moreNorth Korea warned Monday that the unprecedented deployment of three U.S. aircraft carrier groups “taking up a strike posture” around the Korean peninsula is making it impossible to predict when nuclear war will break out. North Korea’s U.N. ambassador, Ja Song Nam, said in a letter to Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres that the joint military exercises…
read morePresident Donald Trump’s son has released a series of private messages from WikiLeaks’ Twitter account sent to him during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump Jr.’s release of the messages came hours after The Atlantic magazine, which obtained the string of messages, first reported them. As he released them, he appeared to downplay…
read moreU.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee, where he is likely to face questions about his directive for senior federal prosecutors to examine whether it is appropriate to open investigations into a number of issues raised by Republican lawmakers. Committee chairman Rep. Robert Goodlatte, asked Sessions in July and September…
read moreMexico’s government is preparing a macroeconomic response in case U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to quit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an event which could wreak havoc on the Mexican economy and hurt the peso. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Monday the government and central bank were preparing…
read morePromoted as needed relief for the middle class, the Senate Republican tax overhaul would increase taxes for some 13.8 million moderate-income American households, a bipartisan analysis showed Monday. The assessment by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate’s tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of…
read moreForeign investors walked a red carpet at a state palace Monday eager to hear strategies for reorganizing Venezuela’s billions in debt, but they left minutes later having learned no concrete plans to address the country’s financial crisis. Vice President Tareck El Aissami, who headed the talks, used much of his time to rail against…
read moreThe federal government began its new budget year with an October deficit of $63.2 billion, up sharply from a year ago. The Treasury Department reported Monday that the October deficit was 37.9 percent higher than the $45.8 billion deficit recorded in October 2016. Both government receipts and spending were up for the month, with receipts…
read morePresident Donald Trump is wrapping up 12-day, five-nation tour of Asia dominated by talks on the North Korea nuclear threat and bolstering trade. After talks in Manila on Monday with the prime ministers of Australia and Japan, Trump promised to make a “major statement” on North Korea and trade when he returns to Washington this…
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