With President Xi Jinping of China beside him at a news conference in the White House Rose Garden last month, President Obama said the two had come to an agreement that China and the United States would refrain from cyberattacks aimed at pilfering company intellectual property or trade secrets for commercial advantage.

A number of major companies - from PepsiCo to Walmart to U.P.S. - have recognized that corporations have a responsibility to address the causes of climate change before it is too late. We do not have to wait for an international treaty or new regulations to act.

As the push for higher minimum pay builds momentum on both sides of the Atlantic, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain this week threatened companies with tough fines if they fail to pay what he called a "national living wage."

Ted Diamantis, an importer of Greek wines who is based in Chicago, has been helping his suppliers stock up on bottles, labels and printing ink. The barrels, though, have him worried.

Sometime this summer, a United Airlines flight will take off from Los Angeles International Airport bound for San Francisco using fuel generated from farm waste and oils derived from animal fats.

A roof-raising trade gap in March highlighted concerns that the rise of the dollar against other currencies was weakening the economy, chipping away at the ability of American manufacturers to compete abroad while encouraging more imports to fill retailers' shelves.

A top federal health official and hundreds of environmental scientists on Friday voiced new health concerns about a common class of chemicals used in products as varied as pizza boxes and carpet treatments.