Washington / AFP   US employers cut back hiring in April in the wake of the economy’s sharp downturn, raising worries of a protracted slowdown in the world’s largest economy. Net new jobs fell unexpectedly to the lowest level in seven months, with just 160,000 additional jobs generated, over 40,000 less than economists predicted, the Labour Department reported. That was …

  Bloomberg The dollar’s biggest gain in six months may run out out fuel as reports from sectors of the U.S. economy keep pointing to sluggish growth. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index that tracks the currency versus 10 peers rallied this week from a one-year low, shrugging off a patchy jobs report. The employment data prompted Goldman Sachs Group Inc. …

  Bloomberg Argentina’s credit rating was raised to B- from selective default by S&P Global Ratings, which cited the country’s payment on Thursday of $2.7 billion of past-due interest on bonds in default since July 2014. The outlook on the South American country’s rating is stable, S&PGR said in a statement. The ranking is five levels below investment grade and …

  Bloomberg Monsanto Co. may have to wait months to gain approval in Argentina for a patent on its latest genetically modified soybean technology, another setback for the world’s largest seed company in its years-long quest to collect royalty payments from the country’s farmers. Monsanto’s Intacta soybean seed still lacks full patent approval from the Argentine regulator, Argentina’s Science and …

  Bloomberg President Barack Obama touted a new rule from his administration that’s aimed at making it harder for people to hide money in the U.S. — but it came under quick criticism from a group of organizations pushing for greater financial transparency. Parts of the rule, which will require financial institutions to identify account holders hidden behind shell companies, …

  Bloomberg Puerto Rico’s economic recession is poised to worsen as residents continue to leave the island, threatening to deepen the fiscal crisis that’s pushing the island to default on a growing share of its $70 billion of debt. The Planning Board, which calculates the island’s economic growth, released its fiscal 2017 forecast, estimating a 2 percent drop in gross …

  Bloomberg Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said it’s working on plans to eliminate as many as 300 more management posts as the maker of engines for Airbus Group SE and Boeing Co.’s biggest jets steps up a cost-cutting drive amid sputtering first-half earnings. The UK company, which has already announced the elimination of 200 senior positions in two tranches, is in …

  NEW YORK / AP Those smiley door greeters are back at Wal-Mart. The US’ largest retailer said in a blog post this week that it’s bringing back door greeters to a majority of its 5,000 stores by mid-summer to improve customer service. For stores which have been selected as higher risks for thefts, Wal-Mart will position a “customer host,” …

  Bloomberg Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. posted a 39 percent surge in revenue as China’s dominant e-commerce operator shrugged off a slowing economy with promotions to woo cash-rich consumers. Asia’s largest internet company posted better-than-expected sales of 24.2 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in the March quarter and said it will start providing annual forecasts. Alibaba shares jumped 4 percent to …

  Bloomberg HNA Group Co., the acquisitive owner of China’s fourth-largest airline, has approached the biggest shareholder of CWT Ltd. to express interest in a possible bid for control of the Singapore logistics company, people with the exact knowledge of the matter said. The Loi family that controls CWT will discuss HNA’s interest in coming days and could enter exclusive …