ECONOMY & MARKETS

Coca-Cola has opened a new bottling plant in the key Hebei province.

Public programs paid for 65 percent of the 1.7 million births resulting from unintended pregnancies in 2008.

Japanese lawmakers will probably submit formal legislation seeking to overturn a ban on casinos soon.

Conventional wisdom asserts that the U.S. economy is being overrun with government employees - but the statistics indicate otherwise.

Ford Motor Company, Southwest Airlines Co. and 3M Co. reported fiscal third-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Mexico faces challenges in many sectors, not the least of which is making its higher education offerings more globally competitive.

However, the poor performance may be a blip and should not raise doubts about the euro zone's overall recovery.

Trade between Central American countries has been hurt by the poor roads conditions, high fuel costs and lengthy customs procedures.

The uptick in manufacturing suggests the possibility of a strong pick-up in growth in the fourth quarter.

Did McDonald’s urge a worker to take food stamps and apply for Medicaid?

Does Spain's emergence from recession mean its austerity gets the credit? Or did austerity delay the recovery?

The House minority leader says this will give U.S. consumers confidence for the holiday season.

Searches for “stock quotes” have gone down, while searches for “food stamps” are on the rise.

The five biggest Chinese lenders were obliged to triple bad loan writeoffs in the first half of the year.

The nation's 2014 budget will be announced on Friday, and broad fiscal reforms are expected.

The "Holland of South America," Uruguay, is one step away from fully legalizing marijuana, and committed to offer a safe market at reasonable prices.

GM has a unique relationship with this economically battered city. Now it wants a $2 million tax break from it.

Better supplies from Brazil have left coffee prices at serious lows, but that could spell opportunity for investors bullish on coffee.

The bank's policy meeting also showed concern about the short-term future of the euro zone and the impact of the U.S. government shutdown.

In an attempt to stabilize its harmed and vulnerable economy, Cuba has decided to unify its monetary system.

Russia relies on oil for 50 percent of its revenue, so what is it going to do when -- or if -- Iranian oil hits the market again?

Chinese trade data showed a 30-month high in platinum imports for September.

It could cost 200,000 yuan just to meet your dream woman in China.

If the Federal Reserve looks more closely at underemployment, the stimulus reduction feared by gold investors could be delayed even further.

The U.S. government shutdown has muddied economic data too much for a data-dependent Fed to reduce stimulus at its next meeting.

The uptick in new housing prices across major cities continues despite the government’s efforts to cool the real estate market.

Smuggled gold may be meeting Indian retail investor demand, as pent-up demand seems lacking.

Workers demanding a pay hike might yet discover there is a significant difference between the cup and the lip.

The new project is expected to create 25,000 jobs in the UK, while critics warn of costlier power.