political
Dow down over 300 points as measure of manufacturing activity indicates contraction
U.S. stocks were firmly lower Tuesday after the U.S. launched a new round of tariffs on $112 billion in Chinese goods Saturday, with China retaliating with new levies of its own, while a key gauge of the U.S. manufacturing sector signaled the first contraction in activity in three years. The new trade barriers and a …
Europe’s Winemakers Break With Tradition as Temperatures Rise
PARIS—Volatile summer weather in Europe, including the record-breaking heat waves that recently scorched the continent, is wreaking havoc on wine country. Temperatures rose to an unprecedented high of 115 degrees in parts of France, causing grapes to ripen before their acidity fully developed, a crucial part of any wine’s flavor profile. This summer’s drought followed …
Isakson retirement puts Georgia at center of 2020 political map
U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s surprise decision to retire at the end of the year sent a seismic wave through Georgia politics by setting up two simultaneous elections for the U.S. Senate in 2020 as Democrats race to transform the state into a political battleground. The three-term Republican said Wednesday that he will step down as …
Mainland Chinese Sneak Into Hong Kong’s Protests—to Support the Cause
HONG KONG—On June 16, a 24-year-old female graduate student with the family name Chen donned a black T-shirt, grabbed a surgical mask in case she needed to hide her face, and joined a massive march against further erosion of the city’s freedoms by China. That much was standard procedure for many of the estimated two …
Australian Citizen Yang Hengjun Is Arrested in China on Suspicion of Spying
China arrested an Australian writer for alleged spying, Australia’s government said, in a case that exacerbates tense relations between the two countries. Yang Hengjun, a blogger and spy novelist who had been in custody for the past half-year, was formally arrested in China on Aug. 23 on suspicion of committing espionage, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne …
U.S. Companies on China: Breaking Up Is Hard
American businesses, from technology startups to large corporations, say they cannot quickly upend their supply chains and stop doing business in China. President Trump tweeted Friday that he “hereby ordered” U.S. companies to explore relocating operations out of China and that he would raise existing and planned tariffs on Chinese goods by 5 percentage points. …
More Hongkongers look to move to Australia amid growing political unrest | World news
Hong Kong’s continuing political unrest has led to a surge in applications from residents seeking to emigrate, including to Australia, and some migration agents are reporting a doubling in inquiries as the protests run into their third month. Australia was the top destination for Hong Kong emigrants in 2018 – nearly a third (2,400) of …
U.S. Appeals Court Freezes Antitrust Ruling Against Qualcomm
A federal appeals court froze a ruling that Qualcomm Inc. had committed an array of antitrust violations, a boost for the chip maker that allows it to maintain its business practices for the time being. The court decision Friday is a setback for the Federal Trade Commission, which had sued the company alleging it had …
GE Is New Target of Madoff Whistleblower
An accounting expert who raised red flags about Bernie Madoff ’s Ponzi scheme has a new target: General Electric Co. GE -7.64% In a research report posted online Thursday, Harry Markopolos alleges the struggling conglomerate has masked the depths of its problems, resulting in inaccurate and fraudulent financial filings with regulators. The report, which numbers …
ICE office shootings in Texas blamed on ‘political rhetoric’
Image copyright Reuters Image caption ICE has blamed the shootings in San Antonio on “political rhetoric” about the Trump administration’s policies. Bullets fired at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in Texas were a “targeted attack” against federal employees, the FBI has said. Several shots were fired at around 03:00 local time (08:00 GMT) …
