Business

Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Tuesday to lead Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 “no matter what” as sterling tumbled and Ireland warned that the bloc would not be renegotiating the thrice defeated divorce deal. The British pound fell on Tuesday as investors bet Johnson’s …

Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Tuesday on optimism the U.S. Federal Reserve will this week cut interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years, supporting fuel consumption in the world’s biggest oil user. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 63 cents to $64.34 a barrel by …

The US economy grew less than previously thought last year, missing President Donald Trump’s target of 3%. Revised official figures shows that GDP expanded by 2.5% during 2018. The figures also revealed that growth slowed during the second quarter as exports declined and companies invested less in their businesses. GDP …

The US government says the economy grew more slowly in 2018 than it previously estimated, downgrading its estimate from 3% to 2.5%. US President Donald Trump had frequently boasted of the 3% growth figure as evidence that his policies invigorated the economy. The US Commerce Department lowered its estimate of …

Facebook Inc will pay a record-breaking $5 billion fine to resolve a government probe into its privacy practices and the social media giant will restructure its approach to privacy, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday. The FTC voted 3-2 along party lines to adopt the settlement, which …

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial contracts for 5G across the world, according to the company’s board member and Senior Vice President Catherine Chen, who was cited by news agency Xinhua. Despite pressure from Washington on its allies to ban Huawei technology, Chen said that 28 …

Iraq’s oil exports from its southern ports have reached 3.42 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in July, two oil officials said on Monday. Exports from its southern Basra terminals fell to 3.39 million bpd in June from 3.441 million bpd in the previous month. Officials said repair works …

German industrial giant Siemens won a €284 million contract to supply gas and steam turbines and generators for an independent power project in Iraq, which is pushing to upgrade its utility infrastructure. Citic Construction, the contractor building the plant and the project developer Maisan Power Company, jointly awarded the contract, …

According to the agreement, which was signed by Finance Minister Fuad Hussein and Yara Salim, a representative to the World Bank, Iraq will focus on improving the power supply in the southern provinces where people have been protesting against the lack of basic public services, including electricity and other related …

State-owned Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) is expanding into China and the Gulf, seeking to lift its revenues from retail banking and international operations to 30% by 2022 from 25% now, its chairman said on Sunday. The bank plans to open a representative office in China next year and is …

  The dollar held near three-week highs on Monday, keeping its gains after last week’s strong U.S. jobs data lowered expectations for a sharp Federal Reserve interest rate cut. Elsewhere, the Turkish lira fell steeply after President Tayyip Erdogan dismissed the central bank governor, sparking worries about the bank’s independence. …

Iraq and Oman signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in the oil and gas sector, including the possibility of building a shared refinery in Oman for processing imported Iraqi crude, the Iraqi oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Iraq will aim to export crude to Oman, according …

Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said on Sunday that he expects a global deal cutting crude production to be extended by six to nine months and that his country supports all efforts to improve stability in the oil market. “The main oil producers are heading toward a decision to extend …

The US and China have agreed to resume trade talks, easing a long row that has contributed to a global economic slowdown. US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping reached an agreement at the G20 summit in Japan. Trump also said he would allow US companies to continue …

Sir Jony Ive, the Briton who over two decades helped turn Apple into the world’s most valuable company, is leaving to set up his own venture. Sir Jonathan, the designer of the iMac, iPod, and iPhone, leaves later this year to start a creative firm, LoveFrom, with Apple as its …

Up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world could be replaced by robots by 2030, according to analysis firm Oxford Economics. People displaced from those jobs are likely to find that comparable roles in the services sector have also been squeezed by automation, the firm said. However, increasing automation …

The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) on Monday announced it was returning 130 million Swiss francs ($133 million) to Uzbekistan which it seized during an investigation involving a relative of the daughter of the country’s former president Islam Karimov. The OAG did not name the relative who was convicted on …

Bitcoin tested 15-month highs on Monday after jumping more than 10% over the weekend, with analysts ascribing the spike to growing optimism over the adoption of cryptocurrencies after Facebook unveiled its Libra digital coin. The biggest cryptocurrency hit $11,247.62 on the Bitstamp exchange late on Sunday, its highest since March …

American energy giant ExxonMobil has put on hold a $53 billion deal with Iraq over “security concerns” stemming from escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, an excuse that observers say the firm has made up to avoid discussing differences of opinion with Baghdad over the contract. Iraqi government …

Amid the ongoing trade war with the US, China appears to be “rolling out the red carpet for the rest of the world,” reducing tariffs on countries competing with the US, an international economics think tank says. Beijing is not sitting idly by, waiting to see who can outlast the …