MEXICO CITY (AP) ― A Mexican senate committee on Saturday proposed the most dramatic oil reform in decades that would open the country’s beleaguered, state-run sector to private companies and investment. The Senate proposal would allow the government to grant contracts and licenses for exploration and extraction of oil and gas to multinational giants such as Exxon or Chevron, something that is currently prohibited under Mexico’s constitution. It also says that contracts could be made directly wi

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s exports grew much more strongly than expected in November, official figures showed Sunday, as a rebound in overseas shipments gained strength on demand from the United States and Europe.Exports increased 12.7 percent to $202.2 billion from November last year, the General Administration of Customs said ― compared with a forecast of seven percent in a poll of 11 economists by the Wall Street Journal reported by Dow Jones Newswires. Imports were up 5.3 percent year-on-year t

PARIS (AFP) ― EADS, the maker of Airbus, is set to announce a draconian restructuring plan to unions on Monday that may include thousands of job cuts and strain relations with shareholders Germany and France.In the line of fire is not EADS’ successful Airbus business, but the company’s defense and space operations, both suffering a drop in orders that the company says requires urgent attention.The restructuring is the brainchild of Tom Enders, the EADS chief executive whose bold plan to merge th

A deal to boost global trade has been approved by the World Trade Organization's 159 member economies for the first time in nearly two decades, keeping alive the possibility that a broader agreement to create a level playing field for rich and poor countries can be reached in the future.    WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo shed tears during the summit's closing ceremony Saturday as he thanked host nation Indonesia and his wife.``For the first time in history, the WTO has finally delivered''

President Barack Obama, setting a theme that he’ll pursue in the final years of his presidency, said growing income disparity in the U.S. is the “defining challenge or our time” and Washington must confront it. Upward mobility for middle-income Americans has been stymied by economic changes and government policy, Obama said.“The basic bargain at the heart of our economy has frayed,” he said in an address in Washington Wednesday that echoed a speech he gave two years ago in Osawatomie, Kansas, th

Japan and Southeast Asian countries are in talks over expanding currency swap arrangements to help cushion their economies in financial emergencies, an official said Thursday, ahead of a Japan-ASEAN summit next week.A swap is a device useful in times of economic stress, when normal foreign exchange markets can seize up, in which financial authorities agree to buy local currency with something much more liquid -- usually the U.S. dollar.Tokyo is now talking with five countries -- Indonesia, the P

A Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday found that the U.S. economy held steady during the 16-day partial government shutdown, growing moderately in most regions from October through late November.The Fed said seven of its 12 banking districts described growth as moderate. Four _ Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City and San Francisco _ said growth was modest. Boston said its regional economy continued to expand.Manufacturing strengthened in most districts, helped by more production of cars, tr

(AFP) -- The European Union fined six finance groups a record 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) on Wednesday for rigging the Euribor and Japanese yen Tibor interest rates.German Deutsche Bank, involved in rigging both rates, was fined a total of 725 million euros, and French Societe Generale was fined 446 million euros for manipulating the European Euribor rate.British bank RBS, already mired in controversy, was fined 391 million euros for involvement in cartels which rigged both rates.The Europe

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AFP) ― India Wednesday rejected a proposed World Trade Organization package, casting a cloud over a high-stakes conference tasked with reviving the WTO’s faltering efforts to liberalize global commerce.The package, which New Delhi fears could endanger its efforts to subsidies food in the huge nation, “cannot be accepted,” commerce minister Anand Sharma said. “Agriculture sustains millions of subsistence farmers. Their interests must be secured. Food security is essential for