The great and the good of world aviation gathered in Montreal last month to do something that seemed impossible even a couple of years ago. They agreed to cap greenhouse gas emissions from international flights. The pact - the first climate change agreement to apply worldwide to a specific sector, one that produces the equivalent annual carbon dioxide output as that of Germany - was greeted with almost universal support.
The coming election will give the United States new lawmakers and a new president. But what does it mean for fast food, leisure cruises and bulldozers? As the nation's bitter, bizarre campaign season builds to its November conclusion, companies across a range of industries are using the election as a data point - sometimes as an excuse - to explain what's happening in their business.
The constant flow of goods from Asia to the United States was briefly interrupted last month after Hanjin, the South Korean shipping line, filed for bankruptcy, stranding several dozen of its cargo ships on the high seas. It was a moment that made literal the stagnation of globalization.
The European Union and Canada signed a far-reaching trade agreement this week that commits them to opening their markets to greater competition, after overcoming a last-minute political obstacle that reflected the growing skepticism toward globalization in much of the developed world.
The futurists of Silicon Valley may not have seen this one coming: The first commercial delivery made by a self-driving truck was 2,000 cases of Budweiser beer. Last week, Otto, the Uber-owned self-driving vehicle operation, announced the completion of its first commercial delivery, having delivered its beer load from Fort Collins, Colo., to Colorado Springs, a roughly 120-mile trip on Interstate 25.
A former South Korean teacher, Kim Jeong-min was at Narita Airport in Japan this month when he watched a television news report that Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone was banned on airplanes because it was prone to catching fire. Kim, 58, said he had felt humiliated, as if the non-Koreans in the airport lounge were looking at him.
Negotiators from more than 170 countries have reached a legally binding accord to counter climate change by cutting the worldwide use of a powerful planet-warming chemical used in air-conditioners and refrigerators.
China reported this week that its economy grew 6.7 percent in the third quarter compared with a year ago. That matched economists' expectations exactly, and was identical to the pace China set in the first and second quarters of this year. In economics, stability like that is remarkable - and usually not to be believed.
The vision of the so-called internet of things - giving all sorts of physical things a digital makeover - has been years ahead of reality. But that gap is closing fast, according to Gartner, a research firm. Today, the range of things being computerized and connected to networks is stunning, from watches, appliances and clothing to cars, jet engines and factory equipment. Even roadways and farm fields are being upgraded with digital sensors. In the last two years, the number of internet-of-things devices in the world has surged nearly 70 percent to 6.4 billion, Gartner says. By 2020, the firm forecasts, the internet-of-things population will reach 20.8 billion.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that sluggish economic growth throughout the world could bolster an anti-trade backlash that has become a feature of politics in both the United States and Europe.
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