WASHINGTON – Billionaire Elon Musk said at a White House cabinet meeting on Thursday he expects $150 billion in savings in FY2026 from the work done by the Department of Government Efficiency. In March, Musk had said he was confident…

President Donald Trump should reinstate two Democratic commissioners at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and use the agency to help consumers, 55 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives said in a letter to the White House on Thursday….

BRUSSELS – The European Union and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to launch free trade talks, the EU and UAE said on Thursday, amid the upheaval and uncertainties created by U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs. He…

Chinese tea chain Chagee said on Thursday it was targeting a valuation of up to $5.1 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, braving choppy market conditions. Market volatility stemming from uncertainty over U.S. trade policy has tempered IPO activity…

WASHINGTON – The U.S. government posted a $161 billion budget deficit for March, down 32% or $76 billion from a year earlier, a decline due largely to a calendar shift for benefit payments as receipts continued to grow, the Treasury…

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON -U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink is stepping down from her role, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, in a move that injects new uncertainty into the relationship between Washington and Kyiv. Reuters reported earlier that Brink…

SANTO DOMINGO – A roof collapse at a concert in a popular nightclub in the capital of the Dominican Republic has killed at least 221 people, authorities said on Thursday, with recovery efforts set to wrap up as families mourn…

WASHINGTON -The United States government will identify the cause of autism by September this year, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Thursday. “At your direction, we are going to know by September. We’ve…

SYDNEY – Australia on Thursday declined Beijing’s proposal to work together to counter U.S. tariffs, saying instead it would continue to diversify its trade and lower its reliance on China, its largest trading partner. “We are not going to be…

GUAYAQUIL/QUITO – The two candidates battling it out to win Ecuador’s presidency in this Sunday’s run-off have focused their energies on the populous coastal provinces, where voters are pleading for action to tackle spiraling drug-related violence. Incumbent President Daniel Noboa…

Oil prices fell around 1% on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up a trade war with China, even as he announced a 90-day pause on tariffs aimed at other countries. Brent futures fell 73 cents, 1.1%, to $64.73…

WASHINGTON -U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Wednesday that the government will seek to deport a man she previously called a leader of the MS-13 gang in the U.S., after prosecutors moved to drop a gun charge against him….

Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to curtail the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions blocking government policies after key parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda have been stymied by such court rulings. The House voted 219-213…

WASHINGTON -The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Paul Atkins as President Donald Trump’s choice to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, installing the business-friendly lawyer atop an agency in the throes of major change. In a largely party line vote,…

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday paused for 90 days many tariffs but is not halting 25% tariffs on automotive imports and looming tariffs on auto parts, drawing criticism from Michigan business and auto groups. The Detroit Regional Chamber…

U.S. shale firm Occidental Petroleum said on Wednesday the prices it received for oil and gas production during the first quarter were higher than in the preceding three months. Benchmark Brent crude prices averaged $74.98 a barrel during the first…

NEW YORK – Short interest on the Nasdaq rose 0.6% in late March, the exchange said on Wednesday. As of March 31, short interest climbed to about 15.754 billion shares, compared with 15.664 billion shares as of March 14. Investors…

NEW YORK/LONDON – Wall Street bosses are girding for Europe to sideline American investment banks in response to the tariff war unleashed by U.S. President Donald Trump, fearing client boycotts and in a worst-case scenario, even formal restrictions. More than…

The U.S. Social Security Administration abandoned plans to end phone services for retirees that would have started on Monday, following a growing outcry from advocates who warned that the changes could cause chaos and further strain the agency. The agency,…

WASHINGTON -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he does not want U.S. Steel Corp to go to Japan, suggesting he no longer supports Nippon Steel’s bid for the American steel producer. The comment appeared to contradict recent actions…

WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly paused part of his tariff assault on global trading partners, dialing back duty rates on goods from many countries for 90 days to allow room to negotiate lower trade barriers, even…

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. spy’s chief of staff on Wednesday said the U.S. intelligence community is investigating whether the FBI was involved in planning the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump. “We’re…

RIYADH -Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister arrived in the United States on Tuesday for an official visit aimed at planning U.S. President Donald Trump’s expected trip to the kingdom later this spring, a source close to the Saudi royal court told…

BRASILIA – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that his nation will be reciprocal on tariffs announced by the United States, but noted the Latin American country will “use every word for negotiation that is in…

The Federal Reserve’s decision to dramatically decelerate the pace of its balance sheet drawdown last month garnered broad support from policymakers, although there was more internal opposition to the shift than first understood, minutes from the central bank’s latest meeting…

DAKAR – U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation that could block International Monetary Fund support for some Central African countries, in an effort to guard billions of dollars that oil companies must set aside for environmental restoration. The bill highlights a…

WASHINGTON  – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Ronald Johnson, a former CIA officer and ambassador to El Salvador, as ambassador to Mexico, amid ties strained by President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and talk he might send in troops to…

NEW YORK -The U.S. dollar rebounded against safe-haven currencies including the yen and Swiss franc on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on many new tariffs on trading partners, but escalated a confrontation with Beijing by hiking…

BERLIN -Volkswagen said the uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs was among the factors leading its operating results to plunge to 2.8 billion euros ($3.07 billion) in the first quarter from 4.6 billion last year. Results at Europe’s…