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The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in November as exports climbed to the highest level in more than two years, government data showed on Thursday.
The trade gap dipped to $38.3 billion from $38.4 billion in October, the Commerce Department reported. Analysts surveyed before the report had expected the November trade deficit to widen slightly to $40.5 billion from October’s originally reported $38.7 billion. Get the full story »
Euro zone countries are working on a “comprehensive package” to solve the bloc’s debt crisis, which could be approved by February or March, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Wednesday.
“We can’t just solve the problems over the short term — if there are short-term problems — but also over the mid-term,” Schaeuble told reporters, adding that euro zone states were trying to reach agreement on a “comprehensive package.” Get the full story »
China is allowing U.S. currency traders to have a crack at its tightly controlled currency, the yuan, but analysts say the move will have more impact on international politics than markets.
“It’s a peace offering to the rest of the world,” said Dean Popplewell, chief currency strategist at the Toronto office of the Oanda Corp., a currency trading services company. Get the full story »
China’s yuan currency remains “substantially undervalued” and it is in Beijing’s own interest to let it appreciate more rapidly to ward off inflation risks, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday. Get the full story »
The United States wants a “real, demonstrative commitment” from China that it is serious about shifting away from export-led economic growth, a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday ahead of next week’s state visit by China’s Hu Jintao. Get the full story »
Even as its U.S. parent bows to consumer demand for healthier products, McDonald’s in Japan is ladling on the calories — an unusual strategy in a country known for its healthy diet and longevity.
Japan’s top restaurant chain by number of stores, McDonald’s Holdings Co. (Japan) Ltd. rolled out its Big America 2 campaign last week, featuring four burgers named for U.S. locales. The Idaho burger, which will make its debut by the end of this month, features a quarter-pound beef patty, melted cheese, a deep-fried hash brown, strips of bacon, onions and pepper-and-mustard sauce. The calorie count: 713. Get the full story »
American Airlines and Japan Airlines plan to launch a new joint venture for trans-Pacific flying this spring, coordinating schedules to make it easier for travelers to catch international flights in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
The moves underscore Chicago’s importance as a gateway for travel to northern Asia and are intended to boost passenger loads for JAL’s flights as the carriers begin to divvy up costs and share revenues on trans-Pacific routes, executives said. Get the full story »
Italy’s Fiat lifted its stake in Chrysler to 25 percent Monday as Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne prepares for an upcoming round of meetings with bankers to refinance Chrysler’s debt and to ready an initial public offering of shares. Get the full story »
Caterpillar Inc. said Monday it will open a plant in Thailand to produce underground mining equipment in the midst of increasing demand for mined commodities by developing countries. Get the full story »
BYD Co Ltd., a Chinese car and battery maker backed by Warren Buffett, expects to enter the mass U.S. auto market in the first quarter of 2012, starting with its e6 electric car model, its chairman said on Monday. Get the full story »
Rising food prices are stoking global inflation with many agricultural commodity markets on the rise, driven by adverse weather in key producing countries, a senior trader at JPMorgan said on Monday. Get the full story »
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that it will set up its first office outside the United States in China in a bid to reduce the amount of dangerous products reaching the American market. Get the full story »
The Group of 20 leading economies will discuss ways to tackle soaring food prices that are stoking fears of a repeat of the 2008 food crisis, as some Asian countries sought to reassure nervous consumers on Friday.
Global food prices hit a record high last month, outstripping the levels that sparked riots in several countries in 2008, and key grains could rise yet further, the United Nations’ food agency said this week. Get the full story »
Enbridge Inc. plans to shut a U.S. Midwest oil pipeline twice over the next two months to make repairs, the company said Tuesday, putting more pressure on Canadian crude prices.
Enbridge, the largest carrier of Canadian crude exports to the U.S., plans a five-day shutdown of the 290,000-barrel-a-day Line 6B starting around Feb. 7, and another of the same duration around March 7, spokeswoman Lorraine Grymala said. Get the full story »
Abbott Laboratories was refused copyright protection on its AIDS drug Kaletra by India’s patent office, allowing Cipla Ltd. and other generic-drug companies to continue selling copies. Get the full story »
