Types of News: Brief Archives

Online Retail Giant Amazon.com Stock Hits 2,000

10Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Online Retail Giant Amazon.com Stock Hits 2,000

July 10, 2019--Online retail giant Amazon.com reached new heights today as its stock rose above 2,000 on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Just a week before company executives are scheduled to appear before a congressional committee investigating the dominance of top tech companies, the stock price reached a new high, reflecting the company's massive scale. The mile-marker in the company's stock price came amid peaks U.S. equities after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell suggested the Fed might cut interest rates. It also comes as tech giants enter the field of finance, posing new risks to consumers, traditional banks and financial markets. Amazon Stock: From $324 in 2014 to $2,024 Today Amazon Sales & Revenue Though Amazon does not pay a dividend and is priced at ...

U.S. Adds Maduro’s Son to Sanctions Blacklist

29Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Adds Maduro’s Son to Sanctions Blacklist

June 28, 2019--The U.S. government added the son of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Moros to its sanction's list, blocking all his property that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons. In its release, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said it is targeting Nicolas "Nicolasito" Ernesto Maduro because he is "a current or former official of the Government of Venezuela," and the office would continue to target regime insiders. "Maduro’s regime was built on fraudulent elections, and his inner circle lives in luxury off the proceeds of corruption while the Venezuelan people suffer," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a release. "Maduro relies on his son Nicolasito and others close to his authoritarian regime to maintain a stranglehold on...

U.S., India Must ‘Try Harder’ to Negotiate Trade Tensions, India’s Top Diplomat Says

26Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy, Global Trade, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S., India Must ‘Try Harder’ to Negotiate Trade Tensions, India’s Top Diplomat Says

June 26, 2019--Despite a growing economic relationship between the United States and India, high-level meetings today between the nations' top diplomats reveal strained relations due to a tougher trade environment and differing diplomatic views on U.S. sanctions against Iran and Russia. Ahead of this week's G20 meeting in Japan and amid growing tensions with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to India and the Middle East this week to garner support. In India, Pompeo met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. While economic relations between the two countries are growing, it appears that geopolitical differences are also rising. 'Try Harder' on Trade Relations Trade between India and the United States on goo...

Remittances Keep Venezuelans Afloat Amid Economic Crisis

21Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

Remittances Keep Venezuelans Afloat Amid Economic Crisis

June 21, 2019-Money transfers into Venezuela from friends and family living abroad are primary means of survival for those left behind in the dire circumstances of economic collapse, according to economic data and on-the-ground reporting by The Indigo Traveller. Economic Snapshot of Venezuela Since 2014, the Venezuelan economy has been in free fall. In terms of economic size, its GDP shrunk from $324 billion in 2015 to $76 billion (projected) for this year. It started shrinking in 2014 with a decline of nearly 4 percent. The past two years, the economy decreased by more than 15 percent a year. Meanwhile, inflation has skyrocketed -- by 10 million percent projected for this year alone. That leaves residents dealing with food shortages, blackouts, unemployment, health issues...

U.S. Gov’t Charges Walmart with Foreign Corruption Violations

20Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Gov’t Charges Walmart with Foreign Corruption Violations

June 20, 2019--In an indication of the prevalence of bribery in international business, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, has agreed to pay the U.S. government $282 million to settle charges that it failed to instill anti-corruption practices for over a decade. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Walmart with with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). According to the SEC, Walmart did not sufficiently investigate or mitigate corrupt payments its subsidiaries and third-party intermediaries made to foreign governments in Brazil, China, India and Mexico. "Walmart valued international growth and cost-cutting over compliance," said Charles Cain, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s unit on foreign corruption. "The company could have avoided many of t...

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

13Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Globalization, Disintegration, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Treasury Cracks Down on Cuba-Related Travel

June 13, 2019-Just a week after the U.S. government announced tougher restrictions on traveling to Cuba, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it reached settlement agreements with internet-travel firm Expedia and Hotbeds USA for apparent violations of the U.S. Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The two actions, which relate to separate areas of the U.S. sanctions law, demonstrate the new emphasis in the United States on tightening and enforcing sanctions against Cuba. Enforcement Targets Travel Agencies Today, the U.S. Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced settlement agreements with travel groups Expedia and Hotelbeds USA for assisting Americans for unauthorized Cuba-related travel. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, the Expedia Group agreed to pay $325,40...

U.S.-Mexico Promise to Combat Migration, Invest in Central America

9Jun

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy, Global Trade, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

U.S.-Mexico Promise to Combat Migration, Invest in Central America

June 9, 2019-After a week of negotiations between Mexican and U.S. officials, the United States and Mexico promised to work together to curb irregular migration and promote economic growth and good governance in Central America. U.S. President Donald Trump said in a message on Twitter that new tariffs on Mexican goods would be "indefinitely suspended." Against widespread opposition in Congress and Wall Street, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs of 5 percent starting June 10 and 25 percent in October, saying that Mexico needed to do more to curb migration flows from Central America to the United States. "I think Mexico has to step up. And if they don’t, tariffs will go on," Trump said June 5 during a joint press briefing with Ireland's Prime Minister. "And if they go high, the co...

Japan’s Abe Promotes Indo-Pacific Strategy in Trade Talks

29May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy, Global Economics, Global Trade, Globalization, Disintegration, Types of News: Brief

Japan’s Abe Promotes Indo-Pacific Strategy in Trade Talks

May 29, 2019--As the U.S.-Japan continued a dialogue over trade between their two nations over the weekend, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put the talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in the context of a wider free-trade agenda for the region. Specifically, Abe emphasized an Indo-Pacific strategy, which would engage the United States in stronger economic ties with the region. "In today’s summit meeting, we welcomed the steady progress of U.S.-Japan cooperation, looking toward the creation of free and open Indo-Pacific, including the areas such as energy, digital, and infrastructure," Abe said at a joint press conference with Trump in Tokyo on Monday. "Going forward, we will walk hand in hand and promote the cooperation for the realization of this common vision of our two nation...

Trade in Plastic Waste is Coming to A Halt, in Part

28May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, International Law, Legal Battles, Types of News: Brief

Trade in Plastic Waste is Coming to A Halt, in Part

May 28, 2019--Amid a decline in trade of plastic waste, Malaysia announced it would return 3,000 tons of plastic trash to exporting countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States and Saudi Arabia. "Malaysia won’t continue to be a dumping ground for the developed nations and those responsible for destroying our ecosystem with these illegal activities are traitors," Malaysia Environmental Minister Yeo Bee Yin, told reporters on Tuesday, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. "We will fight back. Even though we are a small country, we will not be bullied." The problem, the Malaysian ministry said, is that countries are shipping low-quality plastics that cannot be recycled -- a move that is against the country's laws. “Garbage is traded under t...

Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System

17May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Domestic Politics: United States, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief

Trump Proposes Merit-Based U.S. Immigration System

May 17, 2019-U.S. President Donald Trump introduced sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system. "We are proposing an immigration plan that puts the jobs, wages, and safety of American workers first," Trump said while outlining the plans on Thursday. If enacted by Congress, the new system would reshape the American immigration system by increasing merit-based admissions while accepting fewer family-based and humanitarian immigrants. It would identify-candidates based on age, talent, vocation and academic records. Meanwhile, it would prioritize immediate family relationships such as parent and child. 'Dead on Arrival' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the plan was "dead on arrival" in Congress. She said the plan had "repackaged the worst" of immigration ...