Most African farmers and small businesses operate with no way to protect themselves if disaster strikes. But that may be starting to change. A handful of companies are now offering inexpensive, tech-driven micro-insurance and are making it easy for ordinary Africans to sign up. Neha Wadekar reports for VOA from Nigeria and Kenya. …

Young African leaders from 48 countries are in the United States for the Mandela Washington Fellowship’s annual summit, training and networking across the civil, enterprise and public sectors. As Haydé Adams FitzPatrick reports, U.S. officials say supporting the next generation of African leaders is in America’s interest. …

Apple made history Thursday when it became the first publicly listed U.S. company to be valued at $1 trillion. The tech giant’s share price climbed well over 2 percent in mid-session trading, boosting it about 9 percent higher since Tuesday, when it announced better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and a buyback of $20 billion worth of its …

The Trump administration has announced plans to freeze fuel efficiency standards for vehicles. The administration also announced Thursday it wants to rescind the authority of California and other states to set more stringent vehicle mileage standards to address environmental issues like climate change and smog. New fuel-efficiency requirements, which were set to take effect in …

The rolling fields of green soybean plants growing on Fred Grieder’s Illinois farm would be a welcome sign most years … an indicator of a promising harvest in the fall. But this isn’t most years. Tariffs are turning away potential customers overseas, and Grieder estimates he could lose around $100 an acre if the trade …

U.S. President Donald Trump sought to ratchet up pressure on China for trade concessions by proposing a higher 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, his administration said Wednesday. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Trump directed the increase from a previously proposed 10 percent duty because China has refused to meet U.S. demands and has imposed retaliatory tariffs …

The Federal Reserve is leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged while signaling further gradual rate hikes in the months ahead as long as the economy stays healthy. The Fed’s decision left the central bank’s key short-term rate at 1.75 percent to 2 percent – the level hit in June when the Fed boosted the rate …

European Union imports of U.S. soybeans were already rising substantially before a top EU official told President Donald Trump last week that the bloc would buy more. EU Commission figures released Wednesday show that 37 percent of the bloc’s soybean imports last month were coming from the U.S., compared with 9 percent in July 2017. …

Each morning, Kamarunisa Poovummada sips her cup of tea while watching waves from the Arabian Sea crash around a water treatment plant opposite her house on Kavaratti island, off India’s southwest coast. She links the taste of her perfectly brewed cup to the desalination plant that has brought potable water to the doorsteps of islanders, …

Brazil’s three largest fuel distribution companies are under investigation for fixing prices at the pump, police said on Tuesday, reigniting debate over potential collusion among gas station owners in Latin America’s largest oil producer. The firms targeted by the probe are Petrobras Distribuidora SA, a subsidiary of state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA; Ipiranga, a …

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday that it had extended the deadline for investors to divest holdings in sanctioned Russian companies EN+, GAZ Group and Rusal to Oct. 23 from Aug. 5. The U.S. Treasury in April imposed sanctions against billionaire Oleg Deripaska and eight companies in which he is a large shareholder, including …

Iran said on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump was mistaken to expect Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to compensate for supply losses caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran, after OPEC production rose only modestly in July. The comments, from Iran’s OPEC governor, came a day after a Reuters survey showed OPEC production rose by …

McDonald’s is fighting to hold onto customers as the Big Mac turns 50, but it isn’t changing the makings of its most famous burger. The company is celebrating the 1968 national launch of the double-decker sandwich whose ingredients of “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun” were seared …

U.S. companies seeking to be exempted from President Donald Trump’s tariff on imported steel are accusing American steel manufacturers of spreading inaccurate and misleading information, and they fear it may torpedo their requests. Robert Miller, president and CEO of NLMK USA, said objections raised by U.S. Steel and Nucor to his bid for a waiver …

Turkish steel makers are looking to expand in West Africa and other emerging markets in response to tariffs and planned quotas which threaten their sales to the United States and the European Union, a senior sector official said. Namik Ekinci, board chairman for the Turkish Steel Exporters Association (TSEA), told Reuters that Turkey was looking …

Iran’s currency hit new lows with just under a week before new U.S. economic sanctions are due to take effect on August 4, despite the appointment of a new central bank governor and a new economic team. Arab and Iranian media reported the Iranian riyal hit a new low of 111,000 to the dollar Sunday, …

Building on President Donald Trump’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy,   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce a series of investment initiatives in Asia on Monday focusing on digital economy, energy and infrastructure. The announcement, to be made at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum in Washington, comes at a time when trade frictions with China have …

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday he believes the 4.1 percent growth the U.S. recorded in the last three months is sustainable in the coming months despite skepticism expressed by independent economists. “There’s just a lot of good things going on,” Kudlow told CNN.  He said President Donald Trump “deserves a victory lap,” …

Agriculture ministers from the G-20 countries criticized protectionism in a joint statement Saturday and vowed to reform World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, but did not detail what steps they would take to improve the food trade system. In the statement, they said they were “concerned about the increasing use of protectionist nontariff trade measures, inconsistently with WTO rules.” The ministers from …

President Donald Trump falsely claimed he’s pulled off “an economic turnaround of historic proportions.” Speaking at the White House Friday after the government reported that the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter, Trump declared that the gains were sustainable and would only accelerate. Few economists outside the administration …

Friday’s positive numbers on the U.S. economic growth are “very, very sustainable,” according to U.S. President Donald Trump. His comments came after figures showed U.S. GDP growth hit 4.1 percent in the second quarter. The question is whether that growth is sustainable, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from the White House. …

Twitter’s share price fell more than 20 percent Friday after the social media giant reported a drop in active users.  Twitter said it had 335 million monthly users in the second quarter of the year, which was down a million from the amount of monthly users in the first quarter of the year, and below …

Some European companies are rethinking their strategies to cushion the impact of trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies, the United States and China. The focus will switch back to China after a truce on tariffs emerged from U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on July 25. Trump and …

The Latest on the aftermath of Facebook’s release of user growth and expectations for the company ahead (all times local): 4:50 p.m. The 19 percent loss in Facebook’s stock chopped $119 billion off its market value. It was the company’s worst trading day since going public in 2012, and among the biggest one-day losses of …

U.S. President Donald Trump touted the economy’s strong second quarter performance Friday, saying “we’re on track to hit the highest annual average growth rate in over 13 years.” The U.S. economy grew at a 4.1-percent annualized rate in the second quarter, its fastest pace in nearly four years, the Commerce Department reported Friday. “As the …

Social media giant Facebook, which has weathered storms about privacy and data protection, is now looking at cooler growth following a years-long breakneck pace. Shares in Facebook plummeted 19 percent to close at $176.26 Thursday, wiping out $100 billion. It was believed to be the worst ever single-day evaporation of market value for any company. The plunge …