Investors sell stocks, dollar on fears Trump agenda is foundering

Asian stock investors joined a global retreat from riskier assets on Friday and the dollar wavered on growing doubts about U.S. President Donald Trump's ability to deliver his economic agenda. Confidence was shaken further after a van mowed through crowds of tourists in Barcelona on Thursday, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 100 in an attack authorities were treating as Islamic terrorism. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.7 percent, but still looked set to gain 1.4 percent for the week after tensions between North Korea and the United States came off the boil.

The Latest: Catalan govt ties attacks in Cambrils, Barcelona

The Latest on the Barcelona attack (all times local): 5:42 a.m. The Catalan government says an attack in the seaside resort town of Cambrils is linked to the vehicle attack on a popular Barcelona promenade ...

Swire's CEO on Earnings, Hong Kong Real Estate, China

Aug.17 -- Guy Bradley, chief executive at Swire Properties, discusses 1H earnings, his business strategy for Hong Kong, Hong Kong's real estate market, the office market in China and his outlook for his Miami projects. He speaks on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia."

Brazil to swap environmental fines for recovery works

Brazil will allow environmental transgressors to exchange millionaire fines for recovery works at a discount, the environment minister said on Thursday, in a bid to reduce litigation and raise funds for projects in times of austerity. A decree to be published next week will allow environmental offenders such as oil company Petrobras to swap their fines for investments in projects, with a discount of up to 60 percent of the original penalty, minister José Sarney Filho said. From the 23 billion reais ($7.24 billion) in environmental fines imposed between 2011 and 2016, federal agency Ibama has received just 605 million reais as most transgressors appealed against the penalties in courts, ministry data shows.

Barcelona van attack kills 13 in agonizing repeat for Europe

A van veered onto a promenade and barreled down the busy walkway in central Barcelona on Thursday, swerving back and forth as it mowed down pedestrians and turned a picturesque tourist destination into ...

UN chief: Saudi coalition attacks killed children in Yemen

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says in a draft report that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for more than half the children killed and injured in Yemen's civil war last year. The report, obtained ...

Trump Administration to Reconsider GHG Standards for Trailers, Glider Kits

Many fuel economy experts say trailers need to be part of the equation. Photo: TrailerTails

Just months before new greenhouse gas and fuel efficiency rules affecting trailers and glider kits are scheduled to start taking effect, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it plans to revisit those rules.

The EPA announced Thursday that it will revisit provisions of the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards, following concerns raised by stakeholders in the trailer and glider industry.

“We intend to initiate a rulemaking process that incorporates the latest technical data and is wholly consistent with our authority under the Clean Air Act,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in an announcement.

In September 2011, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for model year 2014-2018 (“Phase 1”). These standards applied to newly manufactured engines, tractors, vocational vehicles, large pickups, and vans. In October 2016, EPA and NHTSA updated the standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles MY 2021-2027 (“Phase 2”), and in addition to more stringent standards for tractors, also for the first time regulated trailers and gliders, with compliance deadlines beginning in 2018.

However, the trailer and glider kit sectors have argued that EPA lacks authority to regulate them under the Clean Air Act because their products are not self-propelled “motor vehicles.”

In addition, trailer makers contend that the agency overestimated the potential benefit, greatly overestimating average highway speeds for trailers and not taking into account how local and regional fleets would be affected.

According to InsideEPA.com, it is unclear how the Thursday announcement relates to a lawsuit filed against the EPA by trailer makers and the glider kit industry, Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association ...Read the rest of this story