News from Around the World

López Obrador takes on Mexico’s institutions

Standing beside a sugar cane farmer who uses a wooden, horse-drawn press to squeeze juice into a plastic bucket, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador gave a demonstration of his economic world view.

On a visit to La Huasteca last week, near the Bajío region that is Mexico’s high-tech manufacturing powerhouse, the leftwing nationalist president — who prides himself on not having a checking account or credit card — extolled the virtues of artisanal microbusinesses that he said were “as or more important” in terms of job creation and development than big business.

The Fed Just Cut Interest Rates. Here’s What That Means for You.

Americans juggle a lot of interest rates in their daily lives. They pay interest on car loans, credit card balances and mortgages. They earn interest, at least a little, on the money they save with banks.

Europeans Going Round in Circles on IMF Job as Irritation Grows

European finance ministers will hold a call on Thursday to discuss who should take over the top job at the International Monetary Fund. The discord over who they’ll put forward could threaten the continent’s claim to the post.

EU governments have so far failed to rally behind a single candidate to replace Christine Lagarde atop the Washington-based IMF and the frustration is palpable across capitals.

Tariff Fight Costs China Spot as Top U.S. Trading Partner

WASHINGTON—Escalating tariff disputes between Washington and Beijing cost China its position as the U.S.’s top trading partner in the first half of the year, as exports and imports between the two largest economies fell sharply.

Morgan Stanley: If the trade war escalates, a recession will be here in 9 months

If the U.S. continues to raise a wall of tariffs on Chinese goods in the coming months and China responds, expect a global recession in three quarters, Morgan Stanley said Monday.

“As we view the risk of further escalation as high, the risks to the global outlook are decidedly skewed to the downside,” Morgan Stanley chief economist Chetan Ahya said.

US Treasury officially labels China a currency manipulator

The Trump administration has officially labelled China a “currency manipulator” after the Chinese central bank allowed the renminbi to fall below a key threshold, marking a dramatic escalation in the trade war between the two economic powers.

The US Treasury announced its decision after financial markets closed on Monday. It came just hours after President Donald Trump again accused China of weakening its currency to create an unfair trade advantage.

World Economy Edges Closer to Recession as Trade Woes Spread

The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is nudging the world economy toward its first recession in a decade with investors demanding politicians and central bankers act fast to change course.

U.K. Economy Shrinks for First Time Since 2012 as Brexit Worries Take a Toll

LONDON—The British economy unexpectedly contracted in the second quarter as uncertainty over the country’s planned departure from the European Union on Oct. 31 took its toll on business confidence.

Over 150 Flights Canceled as Hong Kong Airport Is Flooded by Protesters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s airport came to a near halt on Monday, with more than 150 flights canceled after thousands of demonstrators flooded one of the world’s busiest transportation hubs in a show of anger over the police’s response to protests the night before.

The airport said in an afternoon statement that all flights had been canceled for the rest of the day other than those already en route to Hong Kong. Almost 150 departures and more than two dozen arrivals were affected, according to the airport’s website.

Stocks tank as another recession warning surfaces

U.S. stocks tumbled at open Wednesday after the inverted yield curve, one of the most reliable indicators of a recession, sparked a new wave of investor fears, erasing the short-lived bump from Tuesday’s trade easing.