Bloomberg Vale SA, the world’s largest iron ore producer, is selling its share in Brazilian steel mill venture CSA to German partner Thyssenkrupp AG for a “symbolic price,” the company said, part of a strategy to dispose of non-core assets to help bolster its balance sheet. The miner based in Rio de Janeiro will exit the venture by unloading its ...

Bloomberg Petrobras Chairman Nelson Carvalho has opposed a management proposal to reduce the price of gasoline in a bid to boost sales, said a person familiar with the discussions. Jorge Celestino, the head of refining, proposed a price cut at a time Petrobras is losing market share, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the discussions aren’t public. ...

Bloomberg After almost two years of sinking oil prices and at least 40,000 job cuts, Canada’s petroleum industry still isn’t finished tackling its bloated operations. The next round of layoffs has already begun with Cenovus Energy Inc. and Murphy Oil Corp. announcing workforce reductions last week. Ongoing cuts by Suncor Energy Inc., Encana Corp. and others will likely result in ...

AFP Despite slashing oil imports, Canada’s trade deficit with the world widened to Can$1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion) in February, according to the government statistics agency. The figure is up from Can$628 million (US$476 million) the previous month, and about one billion dollars more than the street expected. Exports fell 5.4 percent from a record high in January to Can$43.7 billion ...

Bloomberg US international trade grew in February after a steady fall since 2014, but still remained lower than year-ago levels, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. Exports and imports were both higher after sinking to nearly five-year lows in January, a mark of the overall slowdown in global trade as well as the plunge in commodity prices. Exports rose by ...

Vienna / AFP Talks to end the worst violence in decades in the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh kicked off in Vienna on Tuesday. The meeting gathered Russia, the United States and France in the so-called Minsk Group, spearheading attempts to end a low-key conflict that revived bloodily and dangerously last Friday. Analysts say the crisis could set a spark ...

Seoul / AFP An official North Korean website released a new propaganda video portraying a multiple rocket attack on South Korea’s presidential Blue House and other government buildings in Seoul. It was uploaded on Monday to the DPRK Today website, which had released another video 10 days before depicting a nuclear attack on Washington. Tensions have been rising on the ...

BEIJING / AFP China has imposed restrictions on imports of North Korea coal and sales to the North of jet fuel under UN sanctions imposed in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests. The sanctions announced on Tuesday allow some imports of North Korean coal, iron ore and other materials for civilian use. But they ban any trade connected to ...

Yangon / AFP Myanmar foreign minister Aung San Suu Kyi met her Chinese counterpart in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, an official said, as relations with Beijing take centre stage in the first diplomatic foray of her newly installed pro-democracy government. The Southeast Asian nation sees its giant neighbour—and largest trading partner—as its biggest foreign policy preoccupation with border wars and controversial ...

Cape Town / AFP South African President Jacob Zuma faced an impeachment attempt in parliament on Tuesday after the country’s top court ruled that he had violated the constitution over spending on his private residence. Zuma will almost certainly survive the impeachment vote, which requires a two-thirds majority, as his ruling African National Congress holds an overwhelming number of seats. ...