Author: Fbiz

Immigrants in the United States have had a bad rap through a divisive presidential election. Now, with a new administration in the White House, there seems to be real consequences, ranging from travel bans to deportations. But immigrants are fighting back, and on Thursday in Washington, some businesses gladly suffered the loss of a day …

The Senate Thursday confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick to run the White House budget office, giving the Republicans’ tea party wing a voice in Trump’s Cabinet. South Carolina Rep. Mick Mulvaney squeaked through the Senate on a 51-49 vote. Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, who’s emerging as perhaps the most vocal critic of the …

U.S. homebuilding fell in January as the construction of multi-family housing projects dropped, but upward revisions to the prior month’s data and a jump in permits to a one-year high suggested the housing recovery remained on track. Other data on Thursday showed only a modest increase in the number of Americans filing new applications for …

For up to 16 hours a day, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and mangoes grown in Mexico flow north through a border checkpoint into Nogales, Arizona, helping to ensure a year-round supply of fresh produce across the United States. This is a city built on cross-border trade. Each year, some 330,000 trucks and 75,000 train cars carrying …

Training young farmers to turn agriculture into a business is key to eradicating poverty and curbing economic migration, the new president of the U.N. agricultural development agency said Wednesday. Three-quarters of the world’s poorest people live in rural areas, predominantly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and many rely on farming to survive, according to the …

From buses and trucks to a $500 million golf resort, China is deepening its business footprint in Cuba, helping the fellow Communist-run state survive a crisis in oil-benefactor Venezuela and insulate against a possible rollback of U.S. detente. Cuban imports from China reached a record $1.9 billion in 2015, nearly 60 percent above the annual …

Venezuelan authorities raided the Caracas offices of Odebrecht on Tuesday, as prosecutors deepened a probe into the Brazilian construction firm that has admitted paying some $98 million in bribes to obtain government contracts in Venezuela. “The investigation is aimed at clarifying the situation and determining if the projects for which this company was contracted were …

The mist-enshrouded cloud forest canopies dotting the mountains of Latin America have been degraded by encroaching cities and farms, but convincing hydropower operators to pay for their restoration could increase water flows and boost energy security, analysts say. Research done for the Cloud Forest Blue Energy Mechanism, an early-stage project being incubated by the Global …

A rising tide of automation, trade problems and lagging growth in productivity has slashed millions of jobs from the U.S. manufacturing sector. At the same time, a small factory in Northbridge, Massachusetts, has been hiring, expanding and exporting. Riverdale Mills hopes to grow further by making unusual products and building a strong workforce. Riverdale makes …

Americans shower their loved ones with gifts on Valentine’s Day, with chocolate candy being the most popular gift-giving item, according to a recent National Retail Federation survey. The organization estimates consumers will spend $1.7 million on chocolates this year. That keeps Ben Rasmussen, who creates award-winning chocolates, especially busy. VOA’s June Soh visited his one-man …

French car manufacturer Peugeot has bought India’s most iconic car brand from its maker Hindustan Motors in a deal that signifies the passing of an era in India’s motoring history.   Over the weekend, the C.K. Birla Group that owns Hindustan Motors said it had signed an agreement with Peugeot SA to sell the Ambassador …

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde voiced optimism Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned tax cuts and construction spending would boost the American economy, but said they could cause trouble for the economies around the globe. Lagarde, speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, said, “From the little we know, and I will …

Somalia intends to resume printing banknotes this year for the first time since the government collapsed in 1991. The governor of Somalia’s central bank, Bashir Issa Ali, told VOA in an exclusive interview Saturday that all technical preparations are complete, and his government is confident it can assemble a financial aid package within three months …

Bolivian farmers and government officials are fighting a locust plague threatening corn and sorghum harvests, just as agricultural areas were starting to recover from the South American country’s worst drought in a quarter century. The locusts, first reported in late January in Bolivia’s eastern grains belt, have affected around 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of crops …

U.S. stocks “melted up” Friday as the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, the Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq Composite Index and Russell 2000 Index posted all-time closing highs on continued upward momentum from President Donald Trump, who promised a “phenomenal” announcement about his tax plan in the next two to three weeks. Industrial stocks, led …

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo says it is canceling two illegal logging licenses following an investigation by the environmental action group Greenpeace. The Greenpeace probe found that in September 2016, then-Environment Minister Robert Bopolo Mbongeza authorized the two logging concessions, which covered more than 4,000 square kilometers. One permit went to …

One of the major U.S. credit ratings agencies says the Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and could alter global sovereign credit fundamentals. The Fitch Ratings agency says risks have increased because U.S. policy predictability has diminished under Donald Trump, raising the prospects of unanticipated policy changes that could have global economic …

Delta Air Lines has announced plans to hire as many as 25,000 workers over the next five years.   Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement Thursday that the Atlanta-based company is growing its ranks as it expands and upgrades its hubs at several of the nation’s airports. Bastian’s statement was released after he …

In southern Africa, business is booming for a popular Malawian winery, which makes Linga fruit wine. Linga is made from guava, plums and even some local flowers. The winery’s owner has been expanding into international markets while giving back to his community. For VOA, Lameck Masina has the story from Lilongwe. …

Caribbean tourism officials say the region received a record number of visitors last year as arrivals topped 29 million. But they say they expect a slight drop this year because of the uncertainty surrounding actions that U.S. President Donald Trump might take. The majority of last year’s visitors came from the U.S., although the region …

The expected demise of transparency regulations for minerals and oil companies listed in the United States will not cloud the global drive for financial clarity in extractive industries, company executives told Reuters at an Africa mining conference. Efforts to shine a light on payments such companies make to foreign governments are considered key to eliminating …

Construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under a North Dakota reservoir has begun and the full pipeline should be operational within three months, the developer of the long-delayed project said Thursday, even as an American Indian tribe filed a legal challenge to block the work and protect its water supply. The Army granted Energy Transfer …

President Donald Trump told airline and airport executives Thursday that he supports privatizing America’s air traffic control system, according to a top airline industry lobbyist who was in the meeting.   Nick Calio, president and CEO of Airlines for America, the trade association that represents the major airlines, said after the White House meeting that …

The White House is rushing to the defense of Ivanka Trump’s company _ the latest sign the president can’t seem to separate the presidency from his family’s businesses. President Donald Trump added to a string of presidential firsts on Wednesday, and drew fire from ethics lawyers, with a Twitter attack on Nordstrom. The Seattle-based retailer …