United States

• Monday, August 27th 2018 - 08:30 UTC

  Obama and Bush will speak at McCain's funeral; Trump not invited

  

  Tributes from former US presidents and across the political spectrum have poured in for Republican Senator John McCain, who has died aged 81. Barack Obama, who beat him to the White House in 2008, said they had shared a “fidelity to something higher”. George W Bush described him as “a patriot of the highest order”.

• Sunday, August 26th 2018 - 18:37 UTC

  Trump's attempt to limit federal government unions rejected by a court order

  

  A U.S. federal judge on Saturday rejected key elements of President Donald Trump’s May executive orders that would make it easier to fire federal employees and reduce their ability to bargain collectively.

• Friday, August 24th 2018 - 09:06 UTC

  Latin American growth lowered to 1.5% this year, in a “complex global scenario”

  

  Latin America's economic growth is set to come in lower than expected this year, as US protectionism and widespread wariness of emerging markets put a drag on the region, a UN panel said Thursday. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) slashed its growth forecast for the region by 0.7 point to 1.5%, saying the “complex global scenario” had dimmed the outlook since its last report in April.

• Friday, August 24th 2018 - 09:02 UTC

  Trump warns that any attempt to impeach him would crash the US economy

  

  US President Donald Trump has warned that any attempt to impeach him would result in the crash of the economy. The President made the claim as the White House struggled to manage the fallout from a plea deal Mr Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen made with prosecutors, and the conviction of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on financial charges.

• Friday, August 24th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

  Monsanto glyphosate weed killer could cost Bayer billions in damage lawsuits

  

  United States agro-chemicals company Monsanto is facing a surge in lawsuits that may cost its new owners, Bayer, billions in damages. Monsanto manufactures glyphosate-based weed killers which some believe are carcinogenic. Last month it lost a US$ 289m court case that alleged its products Roundup and RangerPro had led to a Californian man's terminal cancer.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 08:52 UTC

  Federal Reserve ready to raise interest rates, according to minutes

  

  United States Federal Reserve officials discussed raising interest rates soon to counter excessive economic strength but also examined how global trade disputes could batter businesses and households, minutes of the U.S. central bank’s last policy meeting showed.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 08:21 UTC

  Despite trade talks, US and China will impose fresh tariffs beginning Thursday

  

  United States and China are expected to impose fresh tariffs on US$ 16bn of each other's goods on Thursday as their tit-for-tat trade war rages on. The second round of tariffs will see a total of US$ 50bn worth of goods from each side that will now be taxed. Since the opening salvo in July, tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated, hurting their companies and economies.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 08:40 UTC

  Brazil's Real plunges past four to the US dollar, first time since March 2016

  

  Most emerging market currencies worldwide rallied on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the head of the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates, while Brazil's Real fell to its lowest in more than two years on political concerns.

• Tuesday, August 21st 2018 - 08:55 UTC

  Francis: “We showed no care for the little ones,” Francis wrote. “We abandoned them.”

  

  Pope Francis vowed Monday that “no effort must be spared” to root out priestly sex abuse and cover-up from the Catholic Church, but gave no indication that he would take action to sanction complicit bishops or end the Vatican culture of secrecy that has allowed the crisis to fester.

• Saturday, August 18th 2018 - 08:13 UTC

  Donald Trump wants US companies 'to stop quarterly reporting & go to a six month system'

  

  Donald Trump has called for US companies to issue financial reports just twice a year rather than four times. The US President said he has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider altering rules requiring firms to report every quarter.