Business

Asian markets enjoyed another rally on Friday after Donald Trump hailed positive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a report said he had asked officials to draw up a draft bill as he eyes a potential trade deal between the two.   Hong Kong jumped almost four percent in the afternoon, while Shanghai and the yuan soared as dealers ...

China says it will allow trading in products made from endangered tigers and rhinos under “special circumstances,” reversing a previous ban and bringing condemnation from conservation groups. A notice from the Cabinet issued Monday avoided mentioning any change in the law, saying instead that it would “control” the trade and that rhino horns and tiger bones could only be obtained ...

IBM announced Sunday it will acquire North Carolina-based open-source software company Red Hat in a $34 billion stock deal that the technology and consulting giant’s chief executive says will advance the company to the next step in cloud computing.   IBM and Raleigh-based Red Hat said in a joint statement that IBM would buy all Red Hat common shares at ...

The leaders of Japan and India are reaffirming their ties amid growing worries about trade and regional stability.   Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived Saturday, was meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a resort area near Mount Fuji on Sunday. Modi is also visiting a nearby plant of major Japanese robot maker Fanuc.   Relations with China ...

Global markets remained in sell-off mode on Friday, as investor worries sent shares in Asia, Europe and the US tumbling. The benchmark S&P 500 index in the US slid more than 1.7%, closing down almost 10% from its September high.   The Dow Jones fell 1.2%, while the Nasdaq slumped more than 2%.   The falls extended losses earlier in ...

Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has been named in Parliament as the leading businessman accused by a newspaper of sexual and racial harassment. Peter Hain, who identified him in the Lords, said it was his duty to name him, given the “serious and repeated” nature of the allegations.   The Telegraph accused but did not name the businessman on Tuesday. ...

Wall Street fell on Wednesday in another day of losses, erasing the gains posted this year for two of the three main indexes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 2.4% to 24,583.4 points, while the S&P 500 plunged 3.1% to 2,656.1 points.   The losses pushed the two indexes into negative territory for the year.   The sell-off spread to ...

The European Commission has told Italy to revise its budget, an unprecedented move with regard to an EU member state. The Commission is worried about the impact of higher spending on already high levels of debt in Italy, the eurozone’s third-biggest economy.   Italy’s governing populist parties have vowed to push ahead with campaign promises including a minimum income for ...

 Saudi Arabia’s investment conference has gone ahead despite international pressure for a boycott. The Future Investment Initiative (FII) was due to feature 150 high profile speakers from 140 firms.   But around 40 attendees are understood to have pulled out amid allegations the country was behind Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing.   Prominent Saudi critic Khashoggi vanished on 2 October ...

By reopening a key land crossing with Jordan this month, the Syrian regime is inching towards a return to trade with the wider region as it looks to boost its war-ravaged economy. The government of President Bashar al-Assad took back control of the Nassib border post in July from rebels as part of a military offensive that reclaimed swathes of ...