Global Economy
  • Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) arrives at Democratic Party caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ File Photo

    Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

    By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...

  • FILE PHOTO: Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017.   REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

    No Talk of Ousting Speaker Ryan, Key Conservative Says

    By Reuters

    Many Republicans are unhappy with the deal President Donald Trump reached last week with Democratic leaders to raise the government's debt ceiling and allow it to continue financing federal spending...

  • Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro waves during a pro-government rally with workers of state-run oil company PDVSA, in Barcelona

    The Crisis in Venezuela Could Send Oil Prices Soaring

    By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

    Venezuela’s deteriorating crisis is “going to be the biggest geopolitical story to watch in the oil markets," according to Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets. The economic, political and security...

  • FILE PHOTO: Arellano, deputy of the Venezuelan coalition of opposition parties (MUD), clashes with national guards during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas

    The Risk That Could Drive Oil Prices Higher in a Hurry

    By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

    The latest rally in oil prices ran up against a wall yet again, and the same fears about oversupply have not receded in the slightest. The expectation from most oil analysts is that there is very...

  • Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement 'En Marche!', or 'Onwards!', and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, delivers a speech as he attends a meeting for Women's day in Paris, France

    France Just Made a Big Move Toward a Green Energy Future

    By Bate Felix and Simon Carraud, Reuters

    France aims to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral 10 years later, Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said on Thursday at a presentation of measures to keep up...

  • FILE PHOTO - U.S. one dollar bills blow near the Andalusian capital of Seville  in this photo illustration taken on November 16, 2014. REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo

    Yen firms after BOJ minutes; dollar retreats

    By Richard Leong, Reuters

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The yen rose on Tuesday after Bank of Japan minutes showed the hurdle to further quantitative easing was high, while the dollar slipped as data showing a deterioration in...

  • A two-mile Canadian Pacific train loaded with oil tank cars idles on a track in Enderlin, North Dakota, November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder

    Why a small North Dakota town is taking on Big Rail

    By Ernest Scheyder, Reuters

    ENDERLIN, N.D. (Reuters) - After her shift at the TraXside Cafe in the southeast North Dakota hamlet of Enderlin, all Karla Souer wants to do is go home. Unfortunately for the 38-year-old waitress...

  • Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin speaks during the Japan-Russia investment forum in Tokyo March 19, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

    Saudi, Russia pre-OPEC talks yield no oil output cut

    By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal, Reuters

    VIENNA (Reuters) - Impromptu talks between Saudi Arabia, fellow OPEC member Venezuela and oil powers Russia and Mexico yielded no agreement on Tuesday on how to address a growing oil glut, ending...

  • Tourists rest in Times Square shopping centre in Hong Kong February 3, 2012. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

    Street clashes break out as Hong Kong clears part of protest zone

    By Venus Wu and James Pomfret, Reuters

    HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong riot police arrested 80 pro-democracy protesters on Tuesday in running clashes after several thousand demonstrators erected street barricades following clearance of...

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel walk during a meeting in Rio de Janeiro July 13, 2014.  REUTERS/Alexey Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

    Merkel hits diplomatic dead-end with Putin

    By Noah Barkin and Andreas Rinke, Reuters

    BERLIN (Reuters) - After nine months of non-stop German diplomacy to defuse the crisis in Ukraine, Chancellor Angela Merkel decided in mid-November that a change of tack was needed. Ahead of a summit...