The majority of states in the United States including major cities will implement new minimum wage rate starting this year as workers continue to strike and demanding a better payment. Workers have been under pressure lately as the cost of living continues to increase yet their minimum wage remains the same.

The continuous drop in oil price for the past 18 months may impact $125 million real estate-backed securitized loans in North Dakota. The oil drillers in North Dakota have reduced their activity in the wake of lower oil prices. The reduced activity in shale hubs is poised to dampen the property market in North Dakota.

Continuing 12-month falling streak, South Korea suffered drop in exports during December 2015 as well. The sluggish Chinese demand and weaker global outlook have impacted South Korea's exports in 2015. The drop in exports surpassed the forecast of economists.

The Chinese government just passed a new controversial anti-terrorism law as part of the country's effort to curb any threat either from the inside or outside of the country. According to the new law, the Chinese authority has the right to request for sensitive information from any technology firms in the country.

Opium production has been one of Afghanistan source of economy. Since 1950's in the area known as Golden Crescent is a well-known opium and heroin production in the world.

Chipotle reopen its Boston restaurant in Cleveland Circle on Christmas. After an outbreak of norovirus in its outlet earlier, the Mexican Grill would have to close its restaurant for inspection.

BMW North America faces a penalty of up to $40 million by U.S. auto-safety regulators for recall failures. According to US News, U.S. safety regulators have fined penalty with German automaker BMW AG with $40 million for a reason of not fast fixation of their Mini brand cars that failed federal crash tests.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has alerted Japan Inc to gear up for the surge in Yen against the US dollar. JPMorgan Chase forecast Yen will reach 100 yen against a US dollar. However, it says the rally in currency may not sabotage the Japan industry.

Budget legislation closes in on an additional $610 million to fight wildfires in 2016, which still needs approval by the Congress. According to ABC News, the budget will be given to the US Forest Service, which spent $1.7 billion in extinguishing fires in 2015.

For a college student, it is exceptionally hard to manage studies and a regular job simultaneously. But at the same time, the need for money also raises the stress level of a student who wants to be financially independent regarding their pocket money.

Samsung has announced the new high-end smartphone in the Galaxy A lineup, called the Galaxy A9. The new smartphone was announced this week in the Galaxy A Party event in China after its specifications and design were leaked for several times in the past few weeks.

Credit Suisse has received regulatory approval for opening its new branch in Ireland. The Swiss bank is setting up a new branch in Dublin as part of its cost reduction exercise. Credit Suisse is restructuring its securities trading and prime brokerage operations. Credit Suisse is in the process of meeting capital requirements and improving shareholder returns.

Mexico oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is planning to trim its headcount in 2016. The State-run company has suffered a record loss, while its production is declining to 25-year low. Pemex has taken up a restructuring exercise to bring back profitability to the company.

An aerospace company Arca Space Corporation has unveiled a hoverboard than can actually fly. The hoverboard, called ArcaBoard, is a rectangle fan-powered board that can lift a person off the ground by almost a foot.

This Christmas eve of this year has come up with another good news for the music fans. The Beatles' catalogue will soon be arriving on streaming services.

An Australian man is suing eBay for thousands of dollars after it delisted the 'weed hat' he wore in a TV program. According to Daily Rover, Zaky Mallah, an Australian man has taken action against eBay and dragged it to the courtroom.

Starbucks Corp is banking on gift card strategy to boost business volume this holiday season. The American Coffee company is expecting a record number of gift-card purchases on Christmas Eve. The gift-card business is propelling more traffic and loyalty to Starbucks cafes.

The overnight gains on the Wall Street have boosted the market sentiment on Asian bourses ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting. The trading on Wednesday registered positive momentum in equities across the Asian markets.

AirBNB is a platform on which people all around the world can rent out spaces of their choices. But now actual hotels are also seen on AirBNB, renting rooms.

The Brazil's central bank will be under pressure to raise interest rate in 2016 amid gripped into the deepening recession. The borrowing cost is expected to rise by 0.25 percent next year. Brazil is suffering from rising inflation and easing productivity.

The 13 automotive CEOs across the world including the Renault-Nissan Alliance has released the statement on the weekend over the commitment to reduce global emissions by providing cleaner transportation.

Today, Prismatic declared that it will no longer be available and accessible for iOS, Android, and web news reader products and Interest Graph APIs for third-party developers.

The owners of five Airbus A380s leased to Singapore Airlines Ltd, Dr. Peters Group and Doric, have begun seeking for potential future operators for the A380s as the Singapore Airlines is still evaluating whether to extend the leases.

The mayors of five U.S. West Coast cities met in Portland for a two-day summit last week to deliver ideas to reduce carbon emissions on a regional level. The meeting was held as the world leaders met in the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (CPO21) in Paris to discuss carbon reductions on a global scale.

Despite the International Monetary Fund recent inclusion of the yuan or Renminbi in their basket, rich Chinese men are selling their money for other currencies, because they know that China's economy continues to slow down.

A valet parking service app startup Luxe has launched a subscription service program for all its users. The company is now offering the choice of three monthly subscription plans as well as the car care program while the users' vehicle is in the custody of a Luxe attendant.

The world stockpiles of cotton are piling up giving less scope for investors on price rise. Cotton prices witnessed first weekly drop since November.

Taylor Swift is completely in a gift giving mood this Christmas with the latest launch of her 1989 World Tour Documentary on the Apple Music. On the occasion of Swift's 26th birthday, she announced that the release is scheduled on December 20, 2015, on her Twitter platform.

Less than couple of weeks after threatening Amazon, NJ Mayor has abandoned the plan to file a lawsuit against the retail giant. Earlier this month, Dave Fried, the Robbinsville Township Mayor had threatened to sue Amazon once a senior company official failed to show at a crucial meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was arranged to discuss the hefty traffic generated by Amazon's fulfillment center.

The SCMP Group finally closed the deal with Alibaba at a whopping US$262 million approximately. After many rounds of rumors, the Chinese company has announced that Alibaba has agreed to venture into the news business acquiring The South China Morning Post. This Hongkong based newspaper and the other assets of the SCMP Group including the Elle and Esquire sister concern publications and websites will cost Alibaba a big sum of more than $2 million.