Top automakers are vowing to press ahead with weak-selling electric vehicles and zero-emissions technology _ even as they unveil powerful, expensive luxury cars aimed at a growing global automarket.At the Geneva International Motor Show, BMW AG CEO Norbert Reithofer said Tuesday his company “cannot do without” battery powered vehicles such as its i3 urban compact. He said that “in the future electric drive vehicles will be in demand” and that the Munich-based automaker could not meet its targets

GENEVA (AFP) -- South Korea has pushed forward with its complaint against the United States over anti-dumping tariffs on steel pipes used by the oil industry, the World Trade Organization said Tuesday.Seoul requested consultations with Washington over the matter in December, but South Korea has now requested the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body set up a panel of experts to resolve the issue after being unsatisfied with the talks, a WTO statement said.The Geneva-based WTO polices global trade accord

Apple, which has been working secretly on a car, is pushing its team to begin production of an electric vehicle as early as 2020, people with knowledge of the matter said. The timeframe -- automakers typically spend five to seven years developing a car -- underscores the project’s aggressive goals and could set the stage for a battle for customers with Tesla Motors Inc. and General Motors Co., both of which are targeting a 2017 release of an electric vehicle that can go more than 200 miles on a

Greece edged closer to a euro exit after the currency region’s finance ministers said there will be no more talks on financial support unless the Greek government requests an extension of its existing bailout program. After three weeks of sparring since Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s election victory, finance chiefs hardened their positions as negotiations in Brussels ended abruptly on Monday night with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis refusing to bow to European demands. “There won’t be

Greece goes into talks with its eurozone partners Monday demanding changes to a massive international bailout which could lead to its exit from the single currency bloc and into the unknown.In the worst case scenario, a chaotic "Grexit" could jeopardize the whole euro project but analysts say this is very much less likely now than it was at the height of the debt crisis three or four years ago.Brussels is in favor of a straight rollover of the current program that ends this month, but new hard-l

ISTANBUL (AFP) ― The world’s top 20 economies on Tuesday expressed determination to raise global growth but struggled to overcome divisions over the most suitable methods and how best to resolve the Greek debt crisis.G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting in Istanbul acknowledged that global economic growth remained “uneven” and the recovery “slow,” especially in the eurozone and Japan as well as some emerging market economies.They also warned of the risk of “persistent stagnation

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s inflation plunged to 0.8 percent in January, its lowest level for more than five years, official data showed Tuesday, fuelling fears the world’s second-largest economy is on the brink of a deflationary spiral.The rise in the consumer price index was sharply down from the 1.5 percent recorded in December, and was the weakest since 0.6 percent recorded in November 2009, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.It was also short of the median forecast of 1.0 percent in

The deadly crash of a TransAsia plane into a river in Taiwan is again focusing the world's attention on the safety challenges facing fast-growing Asian airlines. TransAsia has been adding new routes rapidly since the Taiwanese carrier went public in 2011. TransAsia and others like it are rushing to keep up with a travel boom driven by the region's growing middle class. The ease and increasing affordability of flying helps fuel economic growth and a better lifestyle for Asian consumers. But as ai

Greece on Tuesday floated proposals to ease the economic pressure generated by its massive foreign debt, boosting stock markets as hopes rose for a deal with its European Union partners.  Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he believed an accord on the debt terms was possible, and promised Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, whom he met in Rome, of Italy's support in trying to achieve it.  "There has to be change in Europe," Tsipras said. "We have to put social cohesion and growth before the

Alibaba founder Jack Ma has defended his company's reputation after authorities accused it of allowing "illegal" actions on its multi-billion-dollar online shopping platform, saying he does not want it to be seen as a hub for fake products.  The Chinese billionaire spoke out after a powerful Beijing regulator delivered an unusual dressing down of the prominent company, publishing a survey saying only about a third of products sampled from Alibaba's consumer-to-consumer marketplace Taobao were ge

E-commerce giant promises more action against fake goods following public spat with Chinese regulator