China’s credit rating outlook downgraded
The credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded its outlook on China’s credit rating Wednesday. The agency released a statement citing “increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook” as its reason for cutting its outlook from stable to negative. Fitch is predicting…
Content creation holds appeal for laid-off workers seeking flexibility
With a compact mirror in one hand and an eyelash curler in the other, Grace Xu told her roughly 300,000 TikTok followers she was likely about to be laid off. She was right, she tells them in a subsequent clip….
Biden administration announces $6.6 billion to ensure leading-edge microchips are built in US
WILMINGTON, Del. — The Biden administration pledged on Monday to provide up to $6.6 billion so that a Taiwanese semiconductor giant can expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most-advanced microchips are produced…
Yellen says US will not accept Chinese imports decimating new industries
BEIJING — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned China on Monday that Washington will not accept new industries being decimated by Chinese imports as she wrapped up four days of meetings to press her case for Beijing to rein in…
Cambodians face mounting pain from microfinance debt
KEAN SVAY, KANDAL PROVINCE, Cambodia — Five years ago, Lun Sam Ath took out a $12,000 loan to build a new wooden house and repay a previous loan that she had used to buy a motorbike. The 45-year-old mother of…
Unexpected strawberry crop spins Burkina’s ‘red gold’
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso — In the suburbs of Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, lucrative strawberry farming is supplanting traditional crops like cabbage and lettuce and has become a top export to neighboring countries. Prized as “red gold” in the Sahel, strawberry…
US, China discuss economic issues on Yellen’s China tour
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The United States and China have agreed to hold talks and create two economic groups focused on a wide range of issues — including addressing American complaints about China’s economic model, growth in domestic and global economies…
US accuses Kenyan officials of corruption in contract awards
Nairobi, Kenya — American firms are losing out on business and contracts in Kenya because top government officials demand bribes, the U.S. trade office said in a report released last week, warning that corruption will hurt foreign investment. According to…
US employers added 303,000 jobs in March in sign of economic strength
WASHINGTON — America’s employers delivered another outpouring of jobs in March, adding a sizzling 303,000 workers to their payrolls and bolstering hopes that the economy can vanquish inflation without succumbing to a recession in the face of high interest rates….
Botswana leads calls on G7 countries to review diamond tracking initiative
GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Africa’s leading diamond producer, Botswana, has written to the Group of Seven leading industrial countries seeking to reverse an initiative requiring all producers to send gems to Belgium for certification. This follows G7 move to prevent the…