The Group of Seven countries on Thursday agreed to intervene to reduce the value of the Japanese yen, which has surged to record levels after last week's earthquake and tsunami. A strong yen could cripple the country's exports and further damage its economy.
This week, President Obama announced that he's nominating Commerce Secretary Gary Locke as U.S. Ambassador to China. There are several short-list contenders to replace Locke at Commerce, but the question is: Who would best be able to help Obama double U.S. exports in the next five years?
The U.S. manufacturing sector is a sight for sore eyes: After more than a year of expansion, it's still growing, as American factories continue to churn out the equipment, machines and products that emerging-market nations need to develop their infrastructures.
Among the questions investors now face: How much rally is left in cotton since skyrocketing 171% already in a year? Among the variables to consider are weather, demand and how much more land gets devoted to cotton. Analysts point to better and worse ways to play this commodity.
The U.S. trade gap widened to just under $500 billion in 2010, but that obscures impressive growth in global sales of U.S. goods. And the outlook for 2011 is even better. Still, to reach a trade surplus, America must solve two serious problems.
Without a doubt, this country's debt overhang needs to be chopped considerably. But does a large national debt doom a nation to economic ruin? Only if you believe that countries like Germany, France, and Japan are economic basket cases, too.
Consumers reopened their wallets and manufacturers slashed inventories, indicating they're getting ready to ramp up production of more goods this year. Also contributing to growth were rising exports and falling imports. But just how good will 2011 prove to be?
China's economy is clearly in the midst of an inflationary pop. And American consumers might think that will translate directly to the prices we pay here. But once you put U.S.-China trade in a larger context, it becomes clear that this is not likely to be the case.
President Obama brought executives from 13 major U.S. firms to the White House Wednesday to meet with Chinese Premier Hu Jintao. The corporate leaders will surely be angling for better access to China's markets, which could boost their stocks. But only a few are actually good investments now.
President Obama has set a goal for the nation -- doubling U.S. exports in the next five years -- and helping smaller businesses is a big part of his plan. But for advice from the trenches, we've interviewed five executives at global export leaders and gleaned 10 tips you can apply to your own company.
There's no way to sugarcoat it: The U.S. job deficit is huge, and it will take years to fix. But investors shouldn't become too pessimistic. America's economy has the capacity to adapt and renew itself faster than many folks expect.
Two days of talks with a high-level delegation from China produced results that should benefit U.S. companies ranging from manufacturers of computer software and wind turbines to beef producers.
Aided by a jump in exports and a dip in imports, the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly plunged to $38.7 billion in October, the U.S. Commerce Department said. A weaker dollar is making U.S. industrial and agricultural goods and services more attractive to foreign customers, including emerging market economies developing their infrastructures.
Since the mad cow scare of 2003, South Korea has been a tough market for U.S. beef: The country first banned it, then severely limited imports. But a pending new trade agreement could mark the resumption of normal trade and the start of a more prosperous era for American beef exports.
A key U.S. manufacturing index unexpectedly dipped slightly in November, but it remained at a level that indicates that the industrial expansion continues. Led by export demand, the factory sector expanded for the 16th consecutive month.