Trade

The U.S. trade deficit fell to $43 billion in February, supported by increasing domestic shale oil production that is driving down petroleum imports, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today. Exports totaled $186 billion in February, up from $184.4 billion in January. Imports rose slightly to $228.9 billion, a gain of only $0.1 billion from January. The smaller trade gap surprised analysts who had expected it to grow to $44.6 billion on the strength of a higher import total....More

Armavia on Monday ceased operations and launched bankruptcy procedures due to grave financial problems....More

There is ample potential for U.S. manufacturing to undergo a resurgence that by 2025 would lead to significantly more good paying manufacturing jobs, increase GDP growth and help create the first surplus in the nation’s goods and services balance of trade since 1975, according to a new econometric forecast model released today by the Aspen Institute and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI)....More

Japanese researchers have found a rich deposit of rare earths, which are vital for high-tech manufacturing and used in products including wind turbines and iPods, on the Pacific seabed....More