United States

• Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

  Protectionism the “darkest cloud” for the solid upswing of the global economy

  

  The threat of trade protectionism is the biggest concern looming over a solid upswing in the global economy, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said. The “darkest cloud” on the economic horizon is the “determination of some to actually rock the system that has actually presided over the trade relationships that we have all undertaken and enjoyed to some extent over the last many decades”, said Lagarde.

• Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:12 UTC

  May Fed minutes suggest a rate hike would soon be appropriate; next meeting in mid-June

  

  Federal Reserve officials earlier this month suggested that another rate hike was on the way soon, while also noting several risks facing the economy, ranging from rising wage pressures to potential harm from the Trump administration's trade policies.

• Wednesday, May 23rd 2018 - 08:39 UTC

  Facebook' Zuckerberg avoids questions and leaves EU lawmakers disappointed

  

  Tensions soared between a handful of leading MEPs and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the 34-year-old billionaire avoided answering detailed questions on the company’s data policies during a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening. Zuckerberg gave general responses to the MEPs, who came to the meeting ready to grill the CEO over Facebook’s recent data scandal, its advertising policy, and whether the social media giant is a monopoly.

• Wednesday, May 23rd 2018 - 08:24 UTC

  In controversial vote US Congress rollbacks 2010 banking regulations

  

  United States lawmakers passed Tuesday the first major rollback of banking regulations enacted after the financial crisis that were aimed at protecting taxpayers from fresh economic trauma and new bank bailouts.

• Tuesday, May 22nd 2018 - 06:51 UTC

  Pompeo threatens Iran with “strongest sanctions in history”; Teheran says US was regressing to “old habits”

  

  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said the US is imposing the “strongest sanctions in history” on Iran. In a speech on Monday in Washington, America's top diplomat said Iran would be “battling to keep its economy alive” after the sanctions took effect.

• Tuesday, May 22nd 2018 - 06:07 UTC

  Trump increases economic isolation of the Venezuelan regime of Maduro

  

  President Donald Trump on Monday increased pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with an executive order that restricts his regime from selling off public assets and blocks purchases of the country's debt.

• Monday, May 21st 2018 - 08:52 UTC

  US/China trade war “on hold”; Beijing agrees to “substantially reduce” surplus

  

  The United States and China are pulling back from the brink of a trade war after the world's two biggest economies reported progress in talks aimed at bringing down America's massive trade deficit with Beijing. “We are putting the trade war on hold,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

• Saturday, May 19th 2018 - 09:38 UTC

  Trump imposes sanctions against the powerful Venezuela clan of Diosdado Cabello

  

  Two days before presidential elections in Venezuela, the Trump administration on Friday announced sanctions against a powerful governing party politician, accusing him of drug trafficking, extortion, money laundering and embezzling government money.

• Saturday, May 19th 2018 - 09:33 UTC

  Ten people killed in school shooting by a student near Houston, Texas

  

  Ten people were killed and 10 wounded in a shooting on Friday morning at a high school south of Houston, authorities said. The shooting at Santa Fe High School was the nation's deadliest such attack since the massacre in Florida that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control.

• Saturday, May 19th 2018 - 09:27 UTC

  China/US trade talks on a more positive track; Beijing dumps sorghum levy

  

  Beijing has dropped an anti-dumping investigation into imported U.S. sorghum, which it had accused the United States of unfairly subsiding. It has also given approval for a U.S. private equity firm to buy Toshiba's memory chip business. Those gestures could suggest a thaw with the U.S. as trade talks went on in Washington in an atmosphere of hopefulness but hardly assurance of a breakthrough in the impasse.