This week, President Trump threatened China with stiffer tariffs ahead of trade talks. On Friday, he raised tariffs from 10 to 25 percent on a $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. For U.S. consumers, this will mean higher prices on goods imported from China, on items from toothbrushes and toilet paper to grills and refrigerators...

The line between carnivores and vegetarians is getting blurred as scientists continue expanding on meat substitutes. From plant-based burgers that “bleed” to lab-grown meat, more alternatives are appearing on grocery shelves and on menus. The trend was underscored this week by a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) by plant-based burger producer Beyond Meat...

Markets were flummoxed Friday morning by a U.S. Labor Department report showing that only 20,000 new nonfarm jobs were created during February. Analysts had been expecting a figure closer to the recent average job growth of 186,000 new hires each month...

Gas prices are starting to climb again, hitting drivers at the pump. After dropping to a three-year low recently, prices rebounded by over 30 cents per gallon. Oil prices have been climbing as well, pulled higher by concerns that U.S. sanctions on Venezuela are restricting that nation’s exports. ...

Construction commodities like copper and lumber are climbing, showing renewed faith in the U.S. housing market and Chinese economy. Both copper and lumber are near a six-month high after bottoming out with stock markets in late December. As the U.S. ...

Soybean prices leapt to a six-week high on Friday after President Trump met with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, and they made progress toward a deal to settle the ongoing trade war with China. Both countries’ leaders now appear optimistic that they can strike a compromise to prevent the self-imposed March 1 deadline before tariffs rise again, a threat that President Trump mentioned on Thursday...

U.S. corn and soybean farmers are giving thanks this week as their record-breaking harvest nears completion. Nationwide, over 90% of this year’s corn and soybean crops have been brought in from the fields, a welcome relief as snow and poor weather conditions had slowed harvest...

Soybeans exploded nearly 5% on Thursday on the heels of a tweet by President Trump: “Just had a long and very good conversation with President Xi Jinping of China… with a heavy emphasis on Trade.”...

Another massive crash in the stock market this week raised the stakes in two major debates among stock index traders. Why is the market tumbling? Will this decline later prove to be a buying opportunity or have we formed a major top?...

Gasoline prices are finally coming down, dropping over 25 cents per gallon since the beginning of October. American refineries had been running near full capacity for months, converting crude oil into fuel at a record rate...

The U.S. stock market suffered from a massive two-day sell-off which began Wednesday morning and continued through Thursday’s close, spreading into the major markets of Europe and Asia as well. Most analysts attributed the tumble to fears that the escalating trade war with China could linger or even accelerate in coming months, raising the costs of industrial production and damaging prospects for U.S. ...

Last Sunday, Canada joined the United States and Mexico in renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new deal, dubbed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), maintains much of the old NAFTA with some new provisions that the Trump administration had been advocating for, including greater protections for North American autoworkers, drug manufacturers, and digital property rights...

The silver market was shining Friday after a long dull period. Though gold, platinum, and copper futures closed higher on Friday too, only the “blue metal” blew over the highs of the past 30 days, drawing the attention of investors and near-panic buying from short-term speculators...

As Hurricane Florence bore down on the Carolinas, millions were at risk from wind, storm surge, and flooding, causing many to seek higher ground. Meanwhile, North Carolina hog farmers faced a unique challenge: keeping nearly 9 million hogs safe. North Carolina is the United States’ second-largest hog producer, making about 15% of U.S. pork. Some farmers are moving the animals to higher ground, while others are preparing for power outages and shortages of grain to feed the hogs...

Hog prices exploded to a two-month high on Friday as markets assessed a new threat: an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in China. The highly contagious and fatal disease has been found on 18 farms across six provinces in China, the world’s largest hog producer and consumer. While the disease doesn’t affect humans, the impact could be monumental on the global food supply...

After a brief rally, hog prices ended on the chopping block again, falling to a 20-month low near 50 cents per pound. Prices are tumbling as U.S. trade delegations have failed to make headway with China and Mexico, the two largest buyers of U.S. pork. Earlier this year, both nations imposed tariffs against U.S. goods in response to a series of tariffs levied by President Trump...

Gasoline prices plummeted to a four-month low this week as U.S. refineries ran at a near-record pace. This is helping to boost gasoline supplies even as drivers hit the road for the final weeks of the summer driving season. Gasoline inventories usually are running on empty by the end of the summer, but stockpiles are huge for this time of year...

U.S. farmers finally got some good news this week, lifting their spirits and prices after months of dismal news. On Tuesday, President Trump announced that he was invoking a Depression-era program to help bail out farmers hurt by the trade disputes with buyers of U.S. agricultural products. The bailout, which could cost up to $12 billion, is expected to be a one-time support, although details of the package won’t be known for months...

The United States is poised to become the world’s largest oil producer next year, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia to seize the top spot. Domestic oil production has doubled over the last decade as new drilling technologies, like fracking, have allowed U.S. producers to profitably pump from far-flung oil fields, spanning from Ohio to New Mexico, turning the United States into a major exporter...

After months of posturing, the first cannonballs in the trade war between the U.S. and China were fired on Friday morning, as each nation officially imposed $34 billion in tariffs on one another’s exports...