The last Hanjin Shipping vessel dropping off goods in California has set sail from the Port of Long Beach, finally clearing the many ships left stranded by the company's sudden collapse two months ago. But in its wake, the giant shipping line has left a mess that retailers across the country will be sorting out for weeks.
Hedge funds are betting that the price of cocoa will rise on concern that the deadly Ebola disease will disrupt supplies from West Africa, which produces 70 percent of the global supply.
Brazil's government has yanked down interest rates to record lows and kept the value of the real, the country's currency, in check. The government has even doled out tax cuts in attempts to boost growth. But so far, there's not much evidence those strategies are working "” and key economic data released recently probably won't change things.
It's a worst-case scenario for most employees: There's someone in China who can do your job quickly, efficiently and for about one-fifth of your salary, and your boss absolutely loves his work.
Corporate executives and workers from dozens of refineries, glass-makers and other business groups bombarded members of the California Air Resources Board with complaints about an upcoming auction of credits allowing them to release greenhouse gases.
FedEx Corp. slashed profit projections for 2012 after posting another quarterly slump in earnings, and its chief executive said trade has slowed to levels not seen during the last two significant economic downturns. That's not exactly what Wall Street wants to hear from a company considered to be a bellwether of the global economy. And it also portends bad news for the hundreds of major U.S. companies that will start reporting third-quarter earnings in a few weeks.
The days of most tax-free internet shopping in California are over. After years of controversy, the world's largest online retailer, Amazon.com Inc., has begun collecting state and local sales taxes on California purchases. Depending on where you live, sales taxes in the state range from 7.25 percent to 9.75 percent.
Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is testing out a new checkout system that enables shoppers to avoid long lines and scan items in store aisles using their smartphones.
State tax collectors are preparing to crack down on renegade internet merchants who don't collect sales taxes, and nearly 100 new state auditors, lawyers and other specialists are being hired to help over the next three years.
