Leading automakers on Monday called on the Trump administration and Congress to resolve trade disputes, and end the US government shutdown, saying political uncertainty is costing the industry, Reuters reports.
Chinese exports saw the steepest fall for two years in December, according to the latest trade figures. Exports from China fell 4.4% last month compared with the year before, while imports fell 7.6%. The figures indicate a further weakening in the strength of the world's second biggest economy and sent Asian stock markets lower on Monday.
A senior US Republican has urged President Donald Trump to temporarily reopen parts of the government shut down for more than three weeks. Senator Lindsey Graham, who is close to Mr Trump, said a limited re-opening of a few weeks would allow talks to resume between Republicans and Democrats.
President Donald Trump warned of murderers and gangsters spreading across the country during a visit to the US-Mexican border on Thursday to push his demand for a multi-billion dollar wall. Trump used the backdrop of the Rio Grande border river at McAllen, Texas, to ramp up what has already turned into a hugely messy political fight with Democratic opponents, resulting in the shutdown of swaths of the US government.
Trade talks between China and the United States this week were extensive, and helped establish a foundation for the resolution of each others' concerns, China's commerce ministry said on Thursday, but gave no details on the issues at stake.
President Donald Trump has walked out of a meeting with Democratic leaders as negotiations broke down on the 19th day of a US government shutdown. The Republican president ended talks after Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer stuck by their refusal to fund his planned US-Mexico border wall.
Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro reaffirmed his rejection of a global migration pact, saying decisions about who was able to come into his country need to be sovereign. His comments, posted in a series of messages on his Twitter account, reinforced Bolsonaro's declaration before he took office last week that he was going to pull Brazil out of the migration compact that was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in December.
The World Bank is warning of increasing risks, or what it calls “darkening skies”, for the world economy. In its annual assessment of global prospects the Bank predicts continued, though somewhat slower, growth this year and next.
United States president Donald Trump has demanded funding for his long-promised US-Mexico border wall to halt “a growing humanitarian and security crisis”. But in his first TV address to the nation from the Oval Office, Mr Trump did not declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and build the barrier.
EU says the US government has changed the bloc's diplomatic status in Washington, in practice downgrading it. The Trump administration did not notify the EU about the change. The EU has asked the US to explain the move, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic says.