MONTREAL (AFP) - US and Canadian negotiators were holding eleventh-hour talks on Sunday aimed at revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Washington-imposed deadline.The talks were being held over the phone, unlike in previous rounds where Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland had traveled to Washington. (AFP)"Lots of progress, but we're not there yet," David MacNaughton, Canada's ambassador to the United States, said in Ottawa before heading back to Washington on Sunda

Elon Musk has reached a deal over fraud charges that will see him step down as electric automaker Tesla's chairman of the board and pay a $20 million fine but stay on as CEO, US securities regulators said Saturday.The agreement eases pressure on Tesla's embattled CEO, who faced potentially being barred from serving as an officer or board member of a publicly traded company as a result of the charges, which stemmed from a tweet by Musk about taking the company private.In this Sept. 17, 2018, file

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday charged Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud, alleging he misled investors last month in tweets about taking the company private.Musk tweeted August 7 that he had "secured" funding to privatize the electric automaker at $420 a share, causing a brief spike in Tesla's share price.The SEC said Musk's statements on Twitter were "false and misleading" and that he had never discussed the plans with company officials or potential funders. Tesla

Michael Kors is buying the Italian fashion house Versace in a deal worth more than $2 billion (1.83 billion euros), continuing its hard charge into the world of high-end fashion. The deal Tuesday comes just 14 months after the New York handbag maker spent $1.35 billion adding to its portfolio Jimmy Choo, the shoemaker that rocketed to fame on the high heels of "Sex and the City."Like others in the fashion industry, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is trying to fire up sales by cranking up the glamour.

BEIJING -- China has announced a new cut in import tariffs but no action on U.S. complaints about its technology policy that are fueling an escalating trade battle with Washington.The announcement Wednesday is the second cut in import taxes in less than a year in what the government says is an effort to lower costs for consumers and make the economy more competitive. (AFP)The Cabinet said import taxes on 1,585 products including construction machinery and building materials will be cut effective

SAN FRANCISCO — When Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold Instagram to Facebook in 2012, the photo-sharing startup’s fiercely loyal fans worried about what would happen to their beloved app under the social media giant’s wings.None of their worst fears materialized. But now that its founders have announced they are leaving in a swirl of well wishes and vague explanations, some of the same worries are bubbling up again — and then some. Will Instagram disappear? Get cluttered with ads and status up

BEIJING _ China has raised tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. imports in an escalation of their fight over technology policy following a deadline for President Donald Trump's latest increase.The General Administration of Customs said it started collecting additional taxes of 5 to 10 percent on a list of thousands of American goods at noon Monday, ratcheting up their fight over Beijing's technology policy. (AP)The increase coincided with the time for Trump's planned tariff hike on $200 billion of Chi

GENEVA (AFP) -- A World Trade Organization arbitrator will review Friday a Chinese request to impose more than $7 billion (nearly 6 billion euros) in annual sanctions on the United States over anti-dumping practices, a Geneva trade official said. (AFP)The decision to appoint an arbitrator was reached during a special meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body convened to discuss developments in a five-year-old trade dispute between the world's top two economies.Beijing had already warned earlier

　Singapore has the fastest 4G network in the Asia-Pacific region, followed by South Korea and Australia.　Singapore is also the fastest 4G, also known as Long Term Evolution, country in the world, according to a report by Open Signal, a UK-based wireless technology company. The report compares 4G performance across 88 countries worldwide.　South Korea has the second-fastest network in Asia, followed by Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Vodafone has jumped ahead of Telstra in the 4G speed me

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is going ahead with plans to impose new tariffs on about $200 billion of Chinese imports, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.Both sides were preparing to hold new talks on their tariff dispute. Last week Trump told reporters such a move could come “very soon.” (AP)The Journal cited unnamed people familiar with the matter who said the tariff level will likely be set at about 10 percent, below the 25 percent announced earlier this year.The two governments

Volkswagen announced Thursday it would end production of its iconic "Beetle" cars in 2019 after adding a pair of final editions of the insect-inspired vehicles.The curvy-topped sedans, which shook off Nazi origins to become a global auto phenomenon, are being sidelined as Volkswagen emphasizes electric cars and larger family-oriented vehicles.But company officials, still trying to completely turn the page after 2015's costly "dieselgate" scandal, opened the door to reviving the model at some poi

　Thai Airways took the top spot as the best economy-class airline in the world, according to the Skytrax’s annual “Best Airlines in the World” ranking for 2018.　Airlines based in Asia dominated the ranking, taking nine of the top 10 spots.　The UK-based consumer aviation agency’s survey based its ratings on more than 20 million customer satisfaction surveys. 

Alibaba's charismatic co-founder and chairman Jack Ma plans to retire from the Chinese e-commerce giant on Monday to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education, he told the New York Times in an interview.Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the world's richest men and a revered figure in his homeland.His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which has added cloud computing, fi

HANOI, Vietnam (Viet Nam News) -- Vietnam expects the growth of textile and garment exports to South Korea to continue until the end of the year after strong results in the first seven months of 2018, according to the General Department of Customs.Up until July, Vietnam showed an on-year increase of 24.88 percent in textile and garment export value to $1.5 billion to South Korea, marking a strong breakthrough in those products to the market.In July alone, the export value of those products to th

NEW YORK -- Google is toeing the line between helping you save time and creeping you out as it turns to machines to suggest email replies on your behalf.The customized auto-responses come in the latest version of Gmail on the web and expand on a feature already available on Android devices and iPhones. They’re just one more example of how artificial intelligence is seeping into everyday online life, whether it’s to tailor product recommendations or correct spelling.So far the new feature has bee