TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s factory output saw a surprise drop and household spending kept falling in August, data showed Tuesday, fanning fears about the impact of April’s sales tax rise on the economy.The figures will add to worries that the country’s tentative recovery has been knocked off kilter by the increased levy and strengthen the hand of those arguing against another hike next year.Industrial production shrank 1.5 percent month-on-month in August after rising 0.4 percent in July, the ministr

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Charles Evans said he favors holding the federal funds rate near zero until the first quarter of 2016 to ensure that the economy is able to withstand higher borrowing costs. “Under appropriate policy, and with a quite good economic outlook, I still only have inflation slowly coming up to our inflation objective,” Evans, who will have a vote next year on the Federal Open Market Committee, told reporters Monday after a speech to economists in Chicago. “So

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- The European Union said it will unveil on Tuesday details of investigations into sweetheart tax deals for Apple amid reports it will accuse the U.S. tech giant of getting illegal state aid.The probe into Apple's tax affairs in Ireland, where it has for years enjoyed an effective rate of less than 2.0 percent, found the schemes gave the company an unfair competitive advantage, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal reported.The EU launched an investigation in June into tax

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― China on Monday hailed the one-year anniversary of its first free-trade zone, but foreign companies expressed disappointment over the pace of pledged reforms as they await real business opportunities.When the FTZ was set up in China’s commercial hub Shanghai, officials promised a range of financial reforms, including full convertibility of the yuan currency and freer interest rates ― both of which remain unfulfilled.Authorities shook up the zone’s management, removing Communist

GENEVA (AFP) ― Russia on Friday blocked a European Union move to get the World Trade Organization to order Moscow to void Moscow’s import duties on vans from Germany and Italy.The wrangling over the vehicle duties is part of a raft of politically-charged trade disputes between the EU and Russia amid the Ukraine crisis.At a meeting of the WTO’s dispute settlement body, Russian diplomats exercised their right to oppose the creation of an independent panel of trade and legal experts to hear the dis

PARIS (AFP) ― The chairman of BNP Paribas has resigned, some three months after the French bank was hit by a record $8.9 billion fine for violating U.S. sanctions, the bank said.Baudoin Prot, 63, who has headed the bank since 2011, was stepping down as of Dec. 1 “for personal reasons,” the bank said in a statement following a meeting of the board late on Friday.Prot will be replaced by Jean Lemierre, 64, one of his close advisors and a key figure in negotiating BNP Paribas’ settlement with U.S.

NEW YORK (AP) ― Wal-Mart is the latest company to get rid of fees that traditional banks charge customers who don’t have enough money in their accounts to cover purchases.The world’s largest retailer said Wednesday that it teamed up with Green Dot Corp., a company known for its reloadable prepaid cards, to bring mobile checking accounts to its shoppers. The accounts won’t charge overdraft and bounced-check fees.It’s the latest attempt to offer banking services that cater to cash-strapped America