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A worker inspects a solar panel at a factory in Dalton, Georgia, in November 2023.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 8, 2026
Trump¡¯s homegrown solar push risks widening green divide
Trump announced a plan to impose tariffs and minimum prices on imported polysilicon used in semicondictors and solar panels.
Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook speaks at the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research in Palo Alto, California, on May 27.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 8, 2026
Trump renews effort to fire Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, continuing attacks on central bank
The White House told Cook in a letter this week that the president was ¡°considering¡± removing her from her role.
Japan's household spending fell 3.3% in June from a year earlier, led by drops in spending on food and apparel, among others.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 7, 2026
Âé¶¹´«Ã½ households continue to cut spending amid persistent inflation
Outlays by households adjusted for inflation dropped 3.3% in June from a year earlier, compared with a 0.9% increase forecast by economists.
A former eel fishing boat covered in mud sits at the banks of the river Rhine as the water levels fall near Neuss, Germany, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2026
Low water levels on Germany¡¯s Rhine amid heat and drought threaten economic blow
Shallow water is imposing tighter limits on how much ship cargo can float down the river ¡ª sending prices up for riverboat freight and heaping pressure on the government to act.
The Bank of America expects the yen to strengthen about 6% against the dollar by year-end following coordinated currency intervention by the U.S. and Japanese governments.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2026
Bank of America sees yen jumping 6% by end of 2026
Analysts at the bank see the Japanese currency advancing to ?149 per dollar on joint action between Tokyo and Washington, and the prospect of a rate hike in coming months.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2026
Kishida sees growth strategy as game changer for yen
Âé¶¹´«Ã½ 14-year strategy aims to generate an annual average of more than ?26 trillion in domestic investment.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has taken an active interest in Âé¶¹´«Ã½ economic affairs.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Aug 5, 2026
Scott Bessent draws on hedge fund instincts to help rescue yen
Most recent Treasury Secretary predecessors came from what is known as the sell-side of finance, but Scott Bessent, with a decades-long hedge fund career, is different.

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Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Âé¶¹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness

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