Zimbabwe will introduce a new currency in the next 12 months, the finance minister said, as a shortage of U.S. dollars has plunged the financial system into disarray and forced businesses to close. In the past two months, the southern African nation has suffered acute shortages of imported goods, including fuel whose price was increased…
read moreAssailing President Donald Trump for “a crisis of leadership,” former Obama Cabinet member Julian Castro joined the 2020 presidential race Saturday as the rush of Democrats making early moves to challenge the incumbent accelerates. Castro, who could end up being the only Latino in what is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic field, made…
read moreRepublican Senator Lindsey Graham has all but given up efforts to negotiate a compromise to end the U.S. government shutdown that would fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall in exchange for extending legal protections for thousands of young undocumented immigrants and others who recently have lost legal status under the Temporary Protected Status program. As late…
read moreHome to Apple, Facebook and Google, Silicon Valley is an American economic powerhouse, producing technology companies with global influence. But behind these influential American brands are scores of foreign workers who play a critical role in the Valley’s tech workforce. Deana Mitchell reports. …
read morePresident Trump’s plan to withdraw troops from Syria is underway, with the Pentagon confirming equipment has begun leaving the battlefield, but soldiers are staying for now. As White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports, President Trump is finding it difficult to fulfill his pledge to cut back on foreign military interventions. …
read moreThe federal government has entered Day 22 of a partial government shutdown, becoming the longest closure in U.S. history. Nine of the 15 Cabinet-level departments have not been funded. The Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, the government’s largest agencies, are the most notable exceptions and continue to operate since they were funded…
read moreElon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX will reduce its workforce by about 10 percent of the company’s more than 6,000 employees, it said on Friday. The company said it will “part ways” with some of its manpower, citing “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead.” “To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and…
read moreThe United States on Friday signaled it would not bow to the European Union’s request to keep agriculture out of planned U.S.-EU trade talks, publishing negotiating objectives that seek comprehensive EU access for American farm products. The objectives, required by Congress under the “fast-track” trade negotiating authority law, seek to reduce or eliminate EU tariffs…
read moreThe latest gadgets want even greater access to your lives. This week’s CES tech show in Las Vegas was a showcase for cameras that can livestream the living room, a bathroom mirror that captures your face to offer beauty tips and a gizmo that tracks the heartbeat of an unborn child. These features can be…
read moreThe Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted on Friday to restore funding for federal agencies that have been shut down by a fight with President Donald Trump over border wall funding, as some 800,000 government workers, from tax collectors to FBI agents, missed their first paycheck. But a full resumption of government operations did not…
read moreUganda’s growing debt is sustainable, and the country is not at risk of losing state assets to China, the country’s finance minister, Matia Kasaija, said this week. Uganda’s auditor-general warned in a report released this month that public debt from June 2017 to 2018 had increased from $9.1 billion to $11.1 billion. The report —…
read moreWhite House national security adviser John Bolton has selected a new deputy. Bolton announced Friday that Charles Kupperman, a longtime colleague dating back to the Reagan administration, would serve as President Donald Trump’s new deputy national security adviser. Bolton says in a statement that Kupperman has been an adviser to him for more than 30…
read moreHere’s what’s up with the partial government shutdown on Day 21. WHAT’S NEW TODAY The shutdown matches the longest stoppage yet: a 21-day closure that ended Jan. 6, 1996, during President Bill Clinton’s administration. Financial pain hits some 800,000 federal workers who will not receive paychecks they were due on Friday. President Donald Trump holds…
read moreProponents of Big Tech say the march of technology into our daily lives is designed to make our lives easier. For some, it’s arguable if a smart refrigerator can actually make life easier. But for the disabled community, technological advances can make a huge difference. Some of that new technology was on display this week…
read moreDespite the U.S. stock market recovery, Macy’s and American Airlines’ revised revenue forecasts for 2018 have sent their stock prices spiraling. Other retail stocks fell, too, including J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and Kohl’s. The reports come amid news of another iconic department store, Sears, fighting for survival. But U.S. trade and financial officials say the U.S.…
read moreThe 800,000 federal workers who are not being paid or are working without pay during the partial government shutdown were the first to feel its impact. But as Anna Kook reports, other segments of the economy are also being hurt, especially in Washington, home to the largest number of federal workers in the country. …
read moreThe former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that what’s happening on the U.S. southern border is no emergency. Craig Fugate, who ran the national disaster agency for nearly eight years under President Barack Obama and was head of Florida’s disaster agency under a Republican governor, said the push of refugees seeking…
read moreThree Russian companies have cut ties to a sanctioned oligarch and will no longer be under U.S. sanctions themselves, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday. Mnuchin appeared before the House of Representatives, where a number of Democrats want the Trump administration to postpone lifting sanctions against the three firms. In a statement issued before the…
read moreWith the deceptive use of a video, President Donald Trump on Thursday heartily thanked his White House predecessor for supporting his policy at the Mexican border. Barack Obama has offered no such support; only criticism. Trump also denied that he ever expected Mexico to make a direct payment for his border wall, despite a call…
read moreRising global authoritarianism, trade protectionism and the weakening of global institutions threaten U.S. businesses, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned Thursday. In his annual address, Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue said for now the U.S. economy is strong and business owners are consistently optimistic, crediting “deregulation and tax reform.” But Donohue…
read moreRobots that walk, talk, brew beer and play pingpong have taken over the CES gadget show in Las Vegas again. Just don’t expect to find one in your home any time soon. Most home robot ventures have failed, in part because they’re so difficult and expensive to design to a level of intelligence that consumers…
read moreJaguar Land Rover said Thursday it will cut 4,500 jobs as the carmaker addresses slowing demand in China and growing uncertainty about the U.K.’s departure from the European Union. The luxury carmaker, owned by India’s Tata conglomerate, said the cuts will be in addition to 1,500 people who left the business in 2018. The cost-cutting…
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