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...

  • Watch what markets don't do as world politics turns nasty

    Watch what markets don't do as world politics turns nasty

    By Mike Dolan, Reuters

    LONDON (Reuters) - Like so much in the investment world of late, it's what financial markets are not doing right now that is most intriguing. Over the course of the past month, conflicts, superpower...

  • Oil smuggling finances Islamic State's new caliphate

    Oil smuggling finances Islamic State's new caliphate

    By Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State militants seized four small oilfields when they swept through north Iraq last month and are now selling crude oil and gasoline from them to finance their newly...

  • Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election

    Indonesian president-elect Jokowi calls for unity after bitter election

    By Jonathan Thatcher and Kanupriya Kapoor, Reuters

    JAKARTA (Reuters) - Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was declared the winner of Indonesia's presidential election on Tuesday, bringing the promise of major reforms to the world's third largest democracy. The...

  • Gaza bloodshed deepens as airlines shun Israel

    Gaza bloodshed deepens as airlines shun Israel

    By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer, Reuters

    GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gaza fighting raged on Wednesday, displacing thousands more Palestinians in the battered territory as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said efforts to secure a truce...

  • EU readies possible capital, tech sanctions on Russia

    EU readies possible capital, tech sanctions on Russia

    By Justyna Pawlak and Adrian Croft, Reuters

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union threatened Russia on Tuesday with harsher sanctions over Ukraine that could inflict wider damage on its economy following the downing of a Malaysian airliner,...