By Tara Siegel Bernard, The New York Times Company The women logged on from Alaska, Florida and points in between, excited and nervous. The energy was palpable in the chat stream, which bubbled with the kind of quick and candid confessions that emerge in a room of virtual strangers. One

Colorado’s COVID-19 cases rose for a fifth consecutive week and hospitalizations are up slightly, but the virus is still circulating at relatively low levels in the state compared with other points of the pandemic. The state confirmed 4,511 new cases during the week ending Sunday — a 25% jump from

WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit surged to a near-record high of $80.2 billion in November as exports slowed at the same time that imports jumped sharply. The November deficit was 19.3% higher than the October deficit of $67.2 billion and was just below the all-time monthly record of $81.4

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China should lower interest rates and boost infrastructure investment to ensure the economy will grow by at least 5 per cent next year, according to an influential Chinese think-tank. The authorities need to boost domestic demand, including consumption and investment, to counter the property slump and any

ABU DHABI (BLOOMBERG) – The Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF) has called on companies to raise investment in oil and natural-gas production to US$523 billion (S$713.5 billion) a year by the end of this decade to prevent a surge in energy prices and economic unrest. The think-tank’s comments echo those

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The threat of “persistently high inflation” has risen and the United States central bank will consider removing stimulus more quickly, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday (Nov 30). Mr Powell has for months described the burst of inflation fuelled by supply chain snarls and shortages of

SEOUL (REUTERS) – South Korea’s factory output in October shrank at its sharpest pace in nearly 1½ years, government data showed on Tuesday (Nov 30), as global chip shortages continued to weigh on car production. Industrial output last month unexpectedly fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.0 per cent month-on-month, Statistics

RALEIGH (REUTERS) – US shoppers spent slightly less online during Black Friday (Nov 26) this year, with many venturing back to physical stores despite coronavirus fears, tight supplies and retailers’ efforts to encourage earlier holiday purchases. For the first time ever, online spending during Black Friday – traditionally one of the biggest

SINGAPORE – The US dollar strengthened to its highest level against the Singapore dollar this year on Tuesday (Nov 23) after Mr Jerome Powell was nominated to serve a second term as chairman of the US Federal Reserve the day before. The Singdollar/US dollar exchange rate hit a high of