Business Focus Washington - Page 3 of 17 from

Trump Administration Moves to Bolster Economy

August 20, 2019 Focus Washington

White House officials have begun preparing options to help bolster the American economy and prevent it from falling into a recession, including mulling a potential payroll tax cut and a possible reversal of some of […]

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Dollar Climbs Above Rivals, Threatens Financial Markets

August 19, 2019 Focus Washington

A prolonged dollar rally is pressuring U.S. corporate earnings, hitting commodity prices and threatening to deepen a selloff in emerging markets, The Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. currency has continued to grind higher this […]

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White House Claims No Recession in Sight

August 18, 2019 Focus Washington

White House officials pushed back on Sunday against concerns that economic growth may be faltering, saying they saw little risk of recession despite a volatile week on global bond markets, and insisting their trade war […]

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Saudi Aramco Remains World’s Most Profitable Company

August 13, 2019 Focus Washington

Saudi Aramco remains the world’s most profitable company, and paid out almost all its net income in dividends, despite the dwindling price of oil, Bloomberg reported. Profit slid 12% to $46.9 billion in the first six months […]

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Iran Sanctions Cause Surge In U.S. And Venezuelan Oil Exports To India

August 12, 2019 Focus Washington

U.S. and Venezuelan oil exports to India have surged as a result of sanctions against Iran. By targeting Iran’s lucrative oil sector, sanctions have impaired the longstanding energy trade between New Delhi and Tehran, forcing […]

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Trade Advisor Navarro Says U.S. Will Take Strong Action If China Devalues Currency Again

August 10, 2019 Focus Washington

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said in an interview Friday that the United States will respond forcefully should China decide to devalue the yuan again, as part of its strategy in the ongoing trade […]

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Amazon Requests FAA Approval of Delivery-drone Plans

August 9, 2019 Focus Washington

Amazon has grand plans to deliver packages to its customers via autonomous drones but first it needs to get clearance, CNN reports. The company has requested that federal regulators excuse it from following some current […]

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China to Focus on Russian Market amid Escalating Trade War with U.S., Says Russia Minister

August 8, 2019 Focus Washington

China’s worsening trade dispute with the United States creates the conditions for the country to focus to the Russian market, economic development minister Maksim Oreshkin said on Wednesday, according to RIA Novosti. “Unlike American partners, […]

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U.S. Soybean Farmers Seek New Markets Amid Drop in Exports to China

August 8, 2019 Focus Washington

American soybean farmers have seen a significant decrease in demand from China, prompting them to seek new markets amid escalating tensions in the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. farmers have been seriously affected by the ongoing […]

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Yuan Slide Inflames U.S.-China Trade War

August 5, 2019 Focus Washington

Wall Street’s major indexes posted their biggest percentage drop of the year on Monday, as a fall in the yuan following President Donald Trump’s vow to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods sparked fears of […]

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Oil Prices Could Sink by $30 if China Buys Iranian Crude

August 5, 2019 Focus Washington

Crude oil prices could sink by as much as $30 a barrel if China decides to buy Iranian crude oil in retaliation to the latest U.S. tariff measures, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, […]

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Former Ambassador Lavin Says U.S., China Unlikely to Reach Trade Deal This Year

August 5, 2019 Focus Washington

Former U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Frank Lavin said Monday that the latest escalation in tensions between Washington and Beijing significantly reduced the likelihood of reaching a trade deal between the two sides later this year. […]

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Suspicions of Iran Sanctions Breach Cause Bank to Seize Tankers

August 5, 2019 Focus Washington

Reports alleging that fuel tankers appeared to breach U.S. sanctions against Iran were cited in court filings by a bank as it sought to seize the ships, accusing the owners of loan default, Bloomberg reported. […]

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Elon Musk to Launch China Unit for Tunneling Company

August 3, 2019 Focus Washington

Elon Musk will soon launch a China unit for his underground tunneling enterprise, The Boring Company, the billionaire entrepreneur said on Twitter, Reuters reported. One of Musk’s followers tweeted that Tesla chief executive officer would […]

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Former Economic Advisor Says Trade War with China Hurts U.S. More

August 2, 2019 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump’s former top economic advisor, Gary Cohn, said Thursday that the trade war the U.S. has been embroiled in with China could not be won and is damaging the country’s economy. Cohn said […]

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Venezuela’s Citgo Stake Can Be Seized, U.S. Appeals Court Says

July 30, 2019 Focus Washington

A U.S. appeals court said Venezuela’s stake in U.S.-based oil refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp. could be seized to satisfy a judgment against the country, dealing a blow to its U.S.-backed opposition government, Wall Street Journal […]

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Trump Considering Tariffs on French Products as Retaliation for Tech Company Tax

July 27, 2019 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump pondered Friday imposing tariffs on French products, including wine, in retaliation for the country’s tax on large American technology companies. The President told reporters that the tariffs could come before the G7 […]

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Oil Prices Heading for Gains amid Iran Tensions

July 21, 2019 Focus Washington

Developments with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz could see higher oil prices in the short term, with prices going up on Friday after the seizure of a British oil tanker by the Iranian Revolutionary […]

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Amazon Workers in Germany to Strike Over Pay

July 15, 2019 Focus Washington

Workers at seven Amazon sites across Germany will go on strike over pay for at least two days this week starting on Sunday night going into Monday, labor union Verdi said, CNBC reports. The strikes, […]

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Huawei to Lay Off Hundreds of U.S. Employees

July 15, 2019 Focus Washington

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is planning to fire hundreds of its employees in the U.S., people familiar with the plans said, adding that the massive layoff will affect employees at Futurewei Technologies, Huawei’s U.S.-based research […]

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Boeing MAX 737’s Grounding to Be Extended for Fourth Time

July 15, 2019 Focus Washington

American Airlines will extend cancellations of around 115 daily flights into early November, the carrier said on Sunday. The cancellations are a result of the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX planes, and come […]

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Trump Administration to Suspend Obama Regulation for Fuel Efficiency Penalties

July 14, 2019 Focus Washington

An Obama-era rule that penalized automakers that did not meet fuel efficiency requirements will be officially suspended by the Trump administration. After Congress ordered federal agencies to adjust existing penalties in 2015, the National Highway […]

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Tesla Reports Record Sales Last Quarter

July 6, 2019 Focus Washington

Tesla has had its share of ups and downs over the years with exploding cars, autopilot mishaps, and CEO Elon Musk saying and doing foolish things on the internet. But this week was a big […]

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U.S. Hits Back at Huawei Lawsuit

July 6, 2019 Focus Washington

The U.S. government issued its first public defense of a law that restricts federal agencies from doing business with Huawei, saying it had ample national-security reasons for enacting it, The Wall Street Journal reported. The […]

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Brent Crude Inches Up, U.S. Oil Falls on Weak Economic Data

July 5, 2019 Focus Washington

U.S. benchmark crude prices fell on weak economic indicators on Friday while Brent oil ticked higher, supported by tensions over Iran and this week’s decision by OPEC and its allies to extend a supply cut […]

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U.S. Proposes More European Tariffs Pending Airbus Case

July 2, 2019 Focus Washington

The U.S. widened its threat to impose tariffs against the European Union, pending the outcome of a World Trade Organization case over the EU’s subsidies of the airplane manufacturer Airbus SE, The Wall Street Journal […]

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U.S.-China Trade Talks Back On, But Obstacles Remain

July 1, 2019 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping of China managed to get trade talks back on track this past weekend, but an even tougher job lies ahead – appeasing hard-line factions within their own governments […]

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India to Use Euros to Buy Russian Weapons and Avoid U.S. Sanctions

June 28, 2019 Focus Washington

The Indian government could purchase Russian arms using the euro so as to avoid the threat of U.S. sanctions for buying military hardware, the Economic Times reported citing sources. The report says that the payments will […]

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New Flaws with Boeing Model 737 Discovered by Pilots

June 27, 2019 Focus Washington

Federal Aviation Administration pilots carried out simulated flights last week when they found new potential faults in the Boeing 737 planes, said two sources. The latest flaw to be discovered is an error in the […]

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China State Media Urges U.S. to Drop Tough Trade Stance

June 22, 2019 Focus Washington

Instead of waging a trade war with China, the United States should drop its win-at-all-costs mentality and consider the interests of its own people as well as the global community, the official People’s Daily said […]

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