Author: Fbiz

The financial industry is closely watching Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial’s attempt to acquire Dallas-based MoneyGram International, the world’s second biggest money transfer company after Western Union. Ant is offering $1.2 billion, more than U.S.-based competitor Euronet Worldwide. If successful, the deal would turn Ant Financial into a financial behemoth with access to MoneyGram’s vast network …

General Motors’ Venezuelan subsidiary has sent a message to almost 2,700 staff informing them that they are no longer employed by the company and had received severance pay in their bank accounts, according to two employees. A Venezuelan court last week ordered the seizure of the company’s Valencia plant, ruling in favor of two dealers …

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk took many risks with the technology in his company’s cars on the way to surpassing Ford Motor Co.’s market value. Now Musk is pushing boundaries in the factory that makes them. Most automakers test a new model’s production line by building vehicles with relatively cheap, prototype tools designed to be …

The governments of Spain and Brazil on Monday reinforced their commitment to completing a trade pact between the European Union and South American trade bloc Mercosur despite protectionist sentiments. On a two-day visit to Brazil, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he agreed with Brazilian President Michel Temer about the need to wrap up a …

A fungus that causes “vomitoxin” has been found in some U.S. corn harvested last year, forcing poultry and pork farmers to test their grain, and giving headaches to grain growers wrestling with massive supplies and low prices. The plant toxin sickens livestock and can also make humans and pets ill. The appearance of vomitoxin and …

Lawmakers from coal-mining states are pushing to extend health benefits for more than 22,000 retired miners and widows whose medical coverage is set to expire at the end of April. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and other coal-state Democrats threatened to shut down the government over the issue in December, but they retreated after winning …

Motorists in Pyongyang are scrambling to fill their tanks as gas stations begin limiting services or closing amid concerns of a spreading shortage.   A sign outside one station in the North Korean capital said Friday that sales were being restricted to diplomats or vehicles used by international organizations, while others were closed or turning …

Even after disembarking from North Korea’s Air Koryo plane at Pyongyang airport, it’s difficult to miss the airline’s brand. The Air Koryo conglomerate makes cigarettes and fizzy drinks, besides owning a taxi fleet and petrol stations – and all have the same flying crane logo as the carrier. The military-controlled airline expanded into consumer products …

As economic and political leaders gather in Washington for the annual spring meetings of the World bank and International Monetary Fund — new warnings Thursday about the impact of rapid change on the global economy. At issue, the pace of technological advance and its Impact on jobs, particularly in developing economies. Mil Arcega has more. …

U.S. officials are reviewing Venezuela’s seizure of General Motors’ assets in the country, U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Thursday. “We are reviewing the details of the case,” Toner said in a statement, saying the United States hoped to resolve the matter “rapidly and transparently.” GM said Wednesday that Venezuelan authorities had taken over …

President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into whether foreign steel imports are damaging U.S. national security, saying his administration would “fight for American workers and American-made steel.” The probe is authorized under a rarely used section of a 1962 trade law that allows a president to restrict imports in cases where security interests are …

General Motors said Wednesday that Venezuelan authorities had illegally seized its plant in the industrial hub of Valencia and vowed to “take all legal actions” to defend its rights. The seizure comes amid a deepening economic crisis in leftist-led Venezuela that has roiled many U.S. companies. “Yesterday, GMV’s (General Motors Venezolana) plant was unexpectedly taken …

A federal judge in Miami fined Princess Cruise Lines $40 million Wednesday for illegally dumping oil waste into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, and for falsifying records. It is the largest such water pollution fine in U.S. history. The Miami Herald newspaper says the British engineer who reported the dumping to the U.S. …

Peru’s economy will recover in coming years with investment in construction after recent flooding, likely growing 4.5 percent in 2018 and 5 percent in 2019, Finance Minister Alfredo Thorne said on Wednesday. Previously, the government had expected growth of 4.3 and 4.1 percent for the next two years. The estimate for 2017 growth was lowered …

The Brazilian government on Wednesday agreed to lower the minimum retirement age for police officers in its pension reform proposal, a day after members of their unions stormed Congress to protest the controversial bill. In the reform draft, congressman Arthur Maia, a government ally in charge of making changes to the original proposal, reduced the …

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at making it harder for companies to hire temporary foreign workers. The order, called “Buy American — Hire American,” will take initial steps to reform the H1-B visa program. H1-Bs allow employers — mostly high-tech firms — to hire skilled foreign workers to work …

Not a US citizen? Got skills? Need work? This might be the visa for you. …

When Mark Pavlyukovskyy, founder of a do-it-yourself computer kit maker, was looking for investors last year, he wanted someone who knew the Chinese market. Turns out, Pavlyukovskyy didn’t have to go to Beijing or Shanghai. Chinese venture capitalists are everywhere in Silicon Valley. Last year, Pavlyukovskyy, a Ukrainian-born American entrepreneur working in San Francisco, raised …

A state-backed newspaper in the United Arab Emirates that was bought by an Emirati who oversees the English soccer club Manchester City is undergoing layoffs, those with knowledge of the firings said Monday. They told The Associated Press that staffers at The National were informed Sunday they had been let go. They spoke to the …

Mini motorcycle and go-kart maker Monster Moto made a big bet on U.S. manufacturing by moving assembly to this Louisiana town in 2016 from China. But it will be a long ride before it can stamp its products “Made in USA.” The loss of nearly one out four U.S. factories in the last two decades …

China’s economic recovery is gaining traction, with growth rising to its fastest pace in over a year in January-March. The 6.9 percent annual pace of expansion for the world’s second-largest economy, reported Monday, surpassed economists’ forecasts and was an improvement from 6.8 percent growth in the last quarter of 2016. Growth last was that strong …

Each day, millions of Americans drink purified water and other beverages from disposable plastic bottles. More than 60 million of those bottles are dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators daily. But a couple of American entrepreneurs are putting some of them to good use by recycling them into shoes. …

You may have noticed: Much of the recent anti-immigration rhetoric in Washington most loudly comes from factions on the political right: H1B, H2B, it’s all about protecting American jobs. But every step of the way, progressive groups — while pro-immigrant — are just as critical of foreign worker visas. Federal regulations on the books, they …

Steeped in centuries of seemingly impenetrable tea tradition, Afghanistan’s capital is getting a little coffee buzz. Nargis Aziz Shahi says business has been increasing day by day since she opened iCafe a couple of weeks ago. Looking a little like a brick-walled Starbucks with a distinctively homey Afghan feel, it’s attracting a mostly youthful clientele …

Steeped in centuries of traditional tea drinking, Afghanistan is getting a little coffee buzz for a change. Hikmat Sorosh has more on this popular new trend from the Afghan capital, Kabul, in this story narrated by Michael Lipin, with additional reporting by Khalil Noorzaie in Herat. …

The impact of automation on U.S. jobs is open to debate. Robots have displaced millions of manufacturing workers, and automation is getting cheaper and more common, raising concerns it will eventually supplant far more workers in the services sector of the economy, which includes everything from truck driving to banking.  University of Virginia Darden School …