Business

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 ...

Chinese cars have attracted wide attention at the ongoing Qatar international motor show, which kicked off on Wednesday. The eighth edition of Qatar Motor Show 2018 (QMS), which will continue until Sunday at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, is held under the theme “Driving to Innovation” and showcases 165 models of top international car brands.   Ali Najm al-deen, the ...

The US has announced plans to withdraw from a 144-year-old postal treaty, which the White House says lets China ship goods at unfairly low prices. The United Nations treaty sets lower international rates for packages from certain countries, a move originally designed to support poorer nations.   But the US says the discounts put American businesses at a disadvantage.   ...

The US has said it intends to negotiate three separate trade agreements with Japan, the UK and the EU. It could take several months before the negotiations begin, it said.   The move is part of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape trade policies to support his “America First” agenda.   It comes as the US has been fighting ...

From today, if you want to advertise a political cause on Facebook in the UK, you’ll have to obey new rules. You will need to prove your identity and location to the company, and each ad will carry a message saying who paid for it. There will also be an online archive, showing all of your previous ads, roughly how ...

Cabinet ministers should “exert their collective authority” and rebel against Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal, ex-Brexit Secretary David Davis has said. The PM has suggested a temporary customs arrangement for the whole UK to remain in the customs union while the Irish border issue is resolved.   Brexiteers suspect this could turn into a permanent situation, restricting the freedom to ...

Forecasting body blames growing risks of no-deal Brexit as it downgrades estimate The British economy is heading for its worst year in almost a decade amid the growing risks from no-deal Brexit, according to a leading economic forecaster. After official figures revealed zero growth in GDP in August, the EY Item Club said the economy would struggle to recover in ...