China's trade surplus with the United States widened last year despite a partial trade deal requiring Beijing to boost purchases, official figures showed Thursday.

A global maker of wipes and toilet paper has created a stink among its French employees after asking them to carry a device that goes off if they violate social distancing rules in the workplace.

British companies are struggling with a large amount of red tape as a result of Brexit, nearly two weeks since the country's final divorce from the European Union.

Thousands of workers on Tuesday protested the pending closure of carmaker Ford's three Brazilian factories at the cost of some 5,000 jobs.

French auto giant Renault on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in 2020 sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, while unveiling its plans for the transition to electric- and hydrogen-powered vehicles.

Canada on Tuesday announced a ban on the import of goods suspected of being made using forced labor in China's restive Xinjiang region, following a similar move by Britain.

A former Nissan chief operating officer outlined in a Japanese court Tuesday the pains company officials took to hide star executive Carlos Ghosn's pay, and how they had worried about his quitting for a rival.

"Carlos Ghosn is a world-class business leader and CEO," said Toshiyuki Shiga, testifying at the trial of his former colleague Greg Kelly, charged with under-reporting Ghosn's compensation.

Carmaker Ford said Monday it would close its three factories in Brazil this year as the coronavirus epidemic exacerbated already slow sales in South America. 

Asian markets mostly rose with the dollar Monday following another record performance on Wall Street as investors cheered the prospect of a further massive stimulus for the US economy, with President-elect Joe Biden calling for a spending spree in the trillions of dollars.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday lowered its 2021 growth forecast for China to 7.9 percent, following a year of "significant human and economic costs" inflicted by the Covid-19 crisis.