Author: News Room

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed to substantially loosen the requirements on companies to report on the social and environmental impacts of their operations.The proposal would limit the rules to companies with more than 1,000 employees and revenue over 50 million euros ($53 million), which means that about 80 percent of companies currently covered by the directive will now be exempt.The Commission is trying to simplify regulations that businesses say impede investment and growth. European officials have become increasingly concerned about waning economic competitiveness, particularly when compared with the United States and China. These worries have been exacerbated since President…

It’s a tax season unlike any other: As millions of Americans dutifully file their returns, the Trump administration is calling for the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service and plans to fire as many as 7,000 workers — all while Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to detailed taxpayer information.It is not surprising that many taxpayers are wondering how this may affect their returns and refunds. But despite the uncertainty, tax experts say individuals shouldn’t change their behavior — the sooner you file, the better. There are also several things that taxpayers can do to try to…

The Washington Post’s opinion editor, David Shipley, is exiting as the newspaper’s owner, Jeff Bezos, said the section’s focus would narrow to defend “personal liberties and free markets.”“I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,” Mr. Bezos said. “Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical; it drives creativity, invention and prosperity.”In his note, Mr. Bezos said that he asked Mr. Shipley whether he wanted to stay at…

At the United States Agency for International Development, thousands of workers have been fired or put on administrative leave and many of its projects addressing global issues like health, hunger and education have been halted.Now, a former Goldman Sachs analyst and son of a private equity billionaire has ambitions to control some of U.S.A.I.D.’s roughly $40 billion budget and apply more of a “pro-market” approach to supporting development in other countries.Benjamin Black, 40, has been nominated by President Trump to run the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a little-known agency that invests and lends billions each year to companies and…

“They have very good rare earth”Ukraine has finally struck a deal to share revenue from mineral sources with the United States, following weeks of sometimes tense negotiations punctuated by insults and threats by President Trump.What Trump proclaimed as a “very big deal” is indeed noteworthy — both in terms of how his administration is looking to profit from supporting Ukraine and how he is increasingly focusing on strategic nonpetroleum resources as a geopolitical goal.What we know so far: Ukraine would contribute 50 percent of proceeds from the “future monetization” of mineral sales to a fund in which the United States…

Shortly after taking office for the second time, President Trump began making deep cuts to agencies and programs that play critical roles in human health, slashing funding for medical research, halting global health aid and firing scores of workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But the campaign to downsize government, which has been led by Mr. Trump and Elon Musk, has also hollowed out agencies and programs devoted to protecting plant and animal health. The recent wave of mass firings hit federal workers responding to the nation’s growing bird flu outbreak, protecting crops from damaging pests and ensuring…

President Trump’s tough talk on China typically centers on tariffs. But a closer look at the decisions he has made since taking office shows that the president is considering a far wider set of economic restrictions on Beijing, ones that could hasten America’s split from a critical trading partner.The Trump administration has so far proposed expanding restrictions on investments flowing between the United States and China. It has appointed officials who, because of national security concerns, are likely to push for more curbs on Chinese investments and technology sales to China. And Mr. Trump has ushered in a 10 percent…

BP, the energy giant, on Wednesday said it would increase spending on oil and gas while sharply paring back investments on various forms of clean energy.The move appears to be a response to a combination of investor pressure for higher returns and a realization that the so-called energy transition to cleaner fuels is not paying off as once expected.“Today, we have fundamentally reset BP’s strategy,” Murray Auchincloss, BP’s chief executive, said in a statement.BP said it would increase oil and gas investment to around $10 billion per year in order to bolster output, while cutting spending on renewables to between…

The Trump administration has opened a broad new front in its global trade conflict, proposing to affix levies reaching $1.5 million on Chinese-made ships arriving at American ports.Such fees would apply even on vessels made elsewhere if they are operated by carriers whose fleets include Chinese ships — an approach that risks increasing costs on an array of imported cargo, from raw materials to factory goods.Given their potential to increase consumer prices, the levies could collide with President Trump’s promises to attack inflation. Nearly 80 percent of American foreign trade by weight is transported by ship, yet less than 2…

Dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts voted in favor of a new contract on Tuesday, ending labor turbulence at ports that handle a large share of U.S. trade with the rest of the world.The dockworkers’ union, the International Longshoremen’s Association, said nearly 99 percent of its members had supported the contract, which raises wages 62 percent over six years and guarantees jobs when employers introduce technology that can move cargo autonomously.The deal was reached after a short strike in October, the first full-scale walkout since 1977, and the intervention of two U.S. presidents.Officials from the Biden administration pushed the…