Focus Washington - Page 28 of 49 from

Fed Chief Optimistic About Recovery

May 18, 2020 Focus Washington

Global stock markets and U.S. futures rose Monday after the chief American central banker expressed optimism the American economy might start to recover this year from the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press reported. London and […]

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Global Shares Fall as Hopes Fade for Quick Economic Rebound

May 14, 2020 Focus Washington

Global shares declined Thursday on pessimism about life getting back to normal soon amid the coronavirus pandemic, after the U.S. central bank chief warned of hard times to come, The Associated Press reported. France’s CAC […]

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Cuomo Warns Against Paying ‘Greedy Corporations’ in Stimulus Bill

May 13, 2020 Focus Washington

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday called on Congress to pass a stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic that funds police officers, teachers and other local and state employees and warned against […]

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Elon Musk Reopens Tesla’s California Plant

May 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla has reopened its only U.S. electric car plant in California, despite local orders against manufacturing. On Monday, the company’s chief executive Elon Musk tweeted that production had restarted and he would be “on the […]

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Mnuchin: U.S. Has No Need to Buy Back Debt, Will Take Advantage of Low Interest Rates

May 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday he sees no need for the country to buy back debt and that he plans to borrow money long-term to lock in low interest rates, as the coronavirus […]

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U.S. Auto Industry Workers Return to Jobs Amid Second Wave Concerns

May 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Factory workers began returning to assembly lines in Michigan on Monday, paving the way to reopen the U.S. auto sector but stoking fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections as strict lockdowns are eased […]

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White House Considers More Coronavirus Aid

May 11, 2020 Focus Washington

The White House has begun informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about what to include in another round of coronavirus relief legislation, officials said on Sunday, while predicting further U.S. jobs losses in […]

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Saudi Arabia Triples VAT to Support Coronavirus-Hit Economy

May 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia is tripling its value added tax (VAT) as part of austerity measures to support its coronavirus-hit economy, BBC reported. The government in Riyadh also said it will suspend its cost of living allowance […]

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Tesla Sues California County in Virus Factory Closure Fight

May 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla sued local authorities in California on Saturday as the electric carmaker pushed to re-open its factory there and Chief Executive Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and future programs from the state to […]

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Coronavirus Inflicts Huge U.S. Job Losses

May 9, 2020 Focus Washington

The U.S. government reported more catastrophic economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis on Friday as the pandemic pierced the very walls of the White House and California gave the green light for its factories to […]

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U.S. Companies Got Emergency Government Loans Despite Having Months of Cash

May 8, 2020 Focus Washington

When American companies recently applied for U.S. government loans meant to help small businesses survive the coronavirus crisis, they had to certify they needed the cash to cover basic needs like salaries and rent. The […]

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U.S. Faces Great Depression-Like Job Losses, Unemployment Rate

May 8, 2020 Focus Washington

The U.S. economy likely lost a staggering 22 million jobs in April, in what would be the steepest plunge in payrolls since the Great Depression and the starkest sign yet of how the novel coronavirus […]

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Musk Now in Line for a $720 Million Payday

May 7, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla shares are up 86% so far this year, which means CEO Elon Musk just qualified for stock options worth more than $700 million, CNN reported. Musk, who already owns about 20% of the company, […]

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U.S. Unemployment Increases as Coronavirus Restrictions Bite

May 7, 2020 Focus Washington

Millions more Americans likely sought unemployment benefits last week, suggesting a broadening of layoffs from consumer facing industries to other segments of the economy and could remain elevated even as many parts of the country […]

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Coronavirus Health Fears Outweigh Concern for Economy, Global Survey Shows

May 5, 2020 Focus Washington

A substantial majority of people around the world want their governments to prioritize saving lives over moves to restart economies being hammered by measures aimed at halting the spread of the new coronavirus, a global […]

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Saudi Arabia Hit With Moody’s Downgrade, Prepares for ‘Painful’ Measures

May 5, 2020 Focus Washington

Saudi Arabia is preparing to enact “strict, painful measures” in the face of its worst growth contraction in two decades brought on by the twin shock of coronavirus lockdowns and low oil prices, its finance […]

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US and China will meet for the first time at a high level since Russia's attack on Ukraine as Biden tries to get Beijing's help with the war.

Trump Administration Pushing to Take Global Supply Chains Away From China

May 4, 2020 Focus Washington

The Trump administration is “turbocharging” an initiative to remove global industrial supply chains from China as it weighs new tariffs to punish Beijing for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, according to officials familiar with […]

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Tesla Falls After Musk Says Stock Too High in Bizarre Tweet Storm

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

Tesla shares plunged after Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the electric-car maker’s stock is too high in a stream of tweets reminiscent of the posts that securities regulators sued over in 2018, Bloomberg reported. […]

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Texas, Ohio Reopen Their Economies

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

Texas and Ohio pushed ahead on Friday with a phased relaxation of restrictions that U.S. states put in place weeks ago to curb the coronavirus pandemic, as Georgia took another step toward a full restart […]

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Virus Aid Weighs on EU Market Competition

May 1, 2020 Focus Washington

Germany accounts for more than half of the emergency coronavirus state aid approved by the EU executive, prompting concerns that countries with the deepest pockets might be getting an unfair advantage in the bloc’s single […]

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Trump’s Tariffs Add to Turmoil of U.S. Manufacturers

April 30, 2020 Focus Washington

Dan Digre, head of MISCO Speakers, was on edge before the coronavirus outbreak hit the global economy. Payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in Chinese tariffs had wiped out the profit and dwindled the […]

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U.S. Economy Faces Historic Shock, With 16% Joblessness Appearing Possible

April 27, 2020 Focus Washington

The shuttering of the U.S. economy due to the coronavirus pandemic is a shock of historic proportions that will likely push the national unemployment rate to 16% or higher this month and require more stimulus […]

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Mideast Economies Take Massive Hit With Oil Price Crash

April 27, 2020 Focus Washington

Iraq is planning painful cuts in social benefits relied on by millions of government workers. Saudi Arabia will likely have to delay mega-projects. Egypt and Lebanon face a blow as their workers in the Gulf […]

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U.S. Airlines Receive Extra $9.5 Billion in Payroll Support

April 26, 2020 Focus Washington

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Saturday it has released $9.5 billion in additional funds from the Payroll Support Program to U.S. air carriers, bringing to $12.4 billion the total provided to the airline sector […]

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Handful of States Move Toward Reopening

April 25, 2020 Focus Washington

With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from […]

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U.S. Workers Too Scared to Go to Work Risk Losing Unemployment Aid

April 23, 2020 Focus Washington

U.S. workers who refuse to return to their jobs because they are worried about catching the coronavirus should not count on getting unemployment benefits, state officials and labor law experts say, Reuters writes. Workers in […]

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U.S. Jobless Claims Wipe out Post-Great Recession Employment Gains

April 23, 2020 Focus Washington

A record 26 million Americans likely sought unemployment benefits over the last five weeks, confirming that all the jobs created during the longest employment boom in U.S. history were wiped out in about a month […]

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U.S. Dollar Jumps vs Saudi Riyal in Forwards Market as Oil Slumps

April 22, 2020 Focus Washington

The U.S. dollar rose against the Saudi riyal in the forwards market on Wednesday after oil prices slumped, with Brent crude futures dropping to their lowest in more than two decades as the coronavirus pandemic […]

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Oil Crash Hits Stocks, Dollar Gains as Investors Shun Risk

April 21, 2020 Focus Washington

Global stocks fell on Tuesday, a day after U.S. crude oil prices turned negative for the first time, as dismal company earnings reports underlined worries about economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. The […]

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U.S. Treasury Releases $2.9bn in Airline Support

April 21, 2020 Focus Washington

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday it had disbursed $2.9 billion in initial payroll assistance to 54 smaller passenger carrier and two major passenger airlines, while it finalized grant agreements with six major airlines, […]

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