T he U.S. government is imposing new duties on imports of steel pipes from China, the latest sign of trade tensions between the two countries. The case is the largest steel trade dispute in U.S

S audi Arabia has quit a long-held lease for five million barrels of Caribbean oil storage near the key U.S. market and state giant PetroChina Co. Ltd.

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A rep formerly affiliated with First Allied Securities Inc. says he will fight SEC charges that he churned client accounts and made unauthorized and unsuitable trades for two institutional clients, resulting in commissions of $14.2 million.

A white van parked in the heart of Times Square with tinted windows, no license plates and a bogus law enforcement placard led the NYPD to briefly evacuate the tourist hot spot and send in a bomb squad on the day before New Year’s Eve. No explosive devices were found inside the van Wednesday afternoon, and the area was reopened to traffic about two hours after the incident began. The van was spotted by patrol officers around 11 a.m.

T he day after Christmas was the second-biggest shopping day during the U.S. holiday season, with $7.9-billion spent, even though traffic in stores fell 6.6 per cent from a year ago, ShopperTrak said Wednesday. Only the day after Thanksgiving, or “Black Friday,” was busier in terms of traffic and sales, at $10.66-billion, the firm said.

Stocks fluctuated in early trading Wednesday as good news on manufacturing helped offset a decline in commodities prices. The market got support from a key economic indicator that signaled growth in the Midwest manufacturing industry for a third straight month. The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index rose to 60 in December from 56.1 in November