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  Tokyo / AFP Japan’s factory output ticked up in October, expanding for the third month in a row, government data showed on Wednesday. Industrial production grew 0.1 percent on-month, following a 0.6 percent increase in September. “Activity is now well above the lows reached earlier this year, but there is still a long way to go to reach the ...

  Jakarta / AFP Multinational companies are selling consumer products containing palm oil from Indonesian plantations where workers suffer rights abuses, Amnesty International warned on Wednesday, listing problems including child labour and exposure to toxic chemicals. The edible vegetable oil is a key ingredient in many everyday goods, from biscuits to shampoo and make-up, and growing demand has led to ...

  Seoul / AFP South Korea is to ban sales of some cars made by Porsche, BMW and Nissan, and fine the companies over $5 million as a probe into emissions documentation widens. Seoul began investigating environmentalcertification on imported cars after Volkswagen last year admitted to installing emissions cheating software in some 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide. The so-called defeat ...

  Bloomberg North Korea faces a sharp cut in coal exports under a United Nations Security Council resolution that’s aimed at punishing Kim Jong Un’s regime for a September nuclear test by cutting off his government’s few sources of hard currency. The resolution, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News, would deny Pyongyang at least $700 million a ...

  Brussels / AFP The EU unveiled ambitious plans on Wednesday to boost joint defence spending including on shared assets like drones and helicopters, as concerns grow that President-elect Donald Trump may downgrade the US security commitment. Trump shocked longtime NATO allies in Europe when he suggested on the campaign trail be would think twice about coming to their aid ...

  New York / AFP Workers from fast-food chains, airports and other service industries rallied in US cities as part of a nationwide day of disruption to demand union rights and a minimum wage of $15 an hour. In New York, a group of 500 that included airport and taxi workers joined a union-backed “Fight For 15” march in front ...

  Ottawa / AFP Canada approved two new pipelines including one to the Pacific coast that will allow producers to sell into new Asian markets, while rejecting a third project. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a press conference his government has agreed to tripling the capacity of Kinder Morgan’s half-century-old Trans Mountain pipeline to move crude from the Alberta oil ...

Bloomberg London Mayor Sadiq Khan pledged to stop buying double-decker buses that run purely on diesel from 2018, as part of his drive to clean up the capital’s toxic air. In addition, all new single-deck buses will be zero-emission, Khan’s office said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday. The mayor also unveiled the world’s first double-deck hydrogen-fueled bus, manufactured by ...

  Bloomberg Personal spending increased at a more moderate pace in October after the biggest gain in five months, while faster income growth signaled demand will be sustained. Purchases rose 0.3 percent after a 0.7 percent September advance that was stronger than first estimated, Commerce Department figures showed on Wednesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a ...

  Los Angeles / AFP Amazon.com Inc. is developing a premium Echo-like speaker with a screen, a sign the world’s largest online retailer is trying to capitalize on the surprise success of its voice-controlled home gadgets and fend off competition from Google and Apple Inc. The new device will have a touchscreen measuring about seven inches, a major departure from ...