RIYADH (AFP) -- The deadly coronavirus epidemic could put an already fragile global economic recovery at risk, the IMF warned Sunday, as G20 financial chiefs voiced "real concern" over its economic ripple effects. Global growth was poised for a modest rebound to 3.3 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent last year, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said after a two-day meeti...

BEIJING (AP) -- Automakers are reopening factories in China that were idled by anti-virus controls as they try to reverse a sales slump in their biggest market. Local officials have orders from the ruling Communist Party to get businesses functioning again while still enforcing anti-disease curbs that shut down much of the world's second-largest economy. "Local governments are putting their ful...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - It is too early to tell the economic toll from the virus outbreak in China, but the hit to global growth should be "mild," International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday. The death toll from the new coronavirus epidemic in China has climbed past 1,350, but hopes have risen that the outbreak could peak later this month. The IMF is expecting a "V-shaped i...

Under Armour is plunging in premarket trading after the company said it anticipates a big financial hit from the viral outbreak in China and saying separately that it may need to restructure this year at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. The athletic gear company anticipates the virus outbreak in China will drag first-quarter sales down by $50 million to $60 million. It's also looking a...

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Boeing on Tuesday officially pushed back the timeframe for the 737 MAX to return to the skies, sending shares plunging and overshadowing an earlier announcement of a first flight of the delayed 777X plane. Boeing said it is now targeting the return of the grounded MAX "during mid-2020," the latest delay in the schedule for the troubled jet, which has been grounded since March f...

From jumping bail and fleeing to Lebanon to be met with an arrest notice from Interpol, Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan has been worthy of a Hollywood plot. Here's what we know about the former Renault-Nissan boss's flight: The exact circumstances of his departure from Japan, where he was under house arrest pending trial, are still shrouded in mystery. On Thursday, Kyodo News quoted an associ...

A Chinese official says Beijing wants a prompt settlement of its trade war with Washington. A deputy commerce minister said Monday that Beijing wants "satisfactory results as soon as possible.'' The official gave no details of talks on a "Phase 1" deal announced by President Donald Trump in October. Another US tariff hike on $160 billion of Chinese imports is due to take effect Sunday. China an...

Air New Zealand has dethroned Singapore Airlines to reclaim the title of world’s best airline for the sixth time. AirlineRatings.com released the latest edition of its annual ranking, which is based on 12 criteria including fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations. This year, the flagship carrier of New Zealand took top honors, nud...

BEIJING (AFP) -- China will require telecom operators to collect face scans when registering new phone users at offline outlets starting Sunday, according to the country's information technology authority, as Beijing continues to tighten cyberspace controls. In September, China's industry and information technology ministry issued a notice on "safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of ...

The Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised at least $11 billion in a share offering in Hong Kong, netting the city's biggest offering since 2010 despite recent political turmoil. Alibaba said Wednesday that it has set the price for the offering at 176 Hong Kong dollars ($22.50) per share. The price is a 2.9% discount for the closing price for its shares traded in New York. It's also below t...

According to Euromonitor International, global luxury goods sales reached $954 billion in 2017 and the global market grew 5 percent in 2018 across most segments. Luxury cars sales accounted for almost 53 percent of all global luxury goods sales. This proportion grew over the reviewed period, and is expected to continue increasing to 2022.

In finance, as in comedy, timing is everything. Get it right and you have investors (or the audience) in the palm of your hand. Get it wrong and the ensuing silence is painful. Saudi Arabia has stepped on stage finally to launch the initial public offering of its oil monopoly Saudi Aramco. By a strange quirk of the calendar, the price of the shares will be set on the same day OPEC meets to decid...

China now has more privately held startups valued by investors at over $1 billion than the US, a report said. There were 206 Chinese firms out of a global total of 494 ultravaluable startups - known as unicorns - in June 2019, according to the research firm Hurun Report. This makes China the country with the largest number of unicorns in the world, with the US coming in second with 203 such ...

It may sound like science fiction, but in a few short years the family dinner table may be laden with steak from a printer and other proteins produced from air, methane or volcanic microbes. With the explosive success of vegan beef and burger substitutes developed by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, the alternative protein sector just keeps growing. According to investment bank Barclays,...

Euro zone business activity grew more than initially thought last month but remained close to stagnation, according to a survey whose forward-looking indicators suggest the existing growth might dissipate. Wednesday‘s survey of businesses comes soon after the European Central Bank resumed its 2.6 trillion-euro bond-buying program to try and stimulate inflation and growth.The former head of the ...