The United States has long been a leader of the free-trade movement around the world, and President Barack Obama set major trade treaties at the center of his economic initiatives.

Which makes it all the more odd that free trade has become a certified villain among candidates battling to succeed Obama in the White House.

U.S. conglomerate 3M Company, maker of the ubiquitous Post-it note, has been sued by an American inventor who says he first conceived the sticky message products.

Alan Amron, 67, filed suit in a federal court in Florida seeking at least $400 million in damages and interest from 3M, according to court documents seen Friday.

The Canadian economy lost 2,300 jobs in February, with fresh losses in the oil-producing provinces raising unemployment to 7.3 percent, the highest level seen in three years, official data showed Friday.

The results fell short of analysts' expectations of 10,000 new jobs and unemployment holding steady at 7.2 percent.

The World Trade Organization on Friday ruled partially in favor of South Korea in its dispute with the United States over duties Washington imposes on imported washing machines.

The oil price may have finally bottomed out, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Friday, noting its "remarkable recovery" over recent weeks.

Recent sharp gains in the oil price, taking it to around $40 per barrel now from $28.50 in mid-January, do not necessarily mean that the worst is over, the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

Colombia dismantled an international money laundering network Thursday with the arrest of 13 suspects, including five flight attendants, prosecutors said.

"Among the 13 arrested people are five (Avianca Airlines) flight attendants and eight individuals who were engaged in transporting to Colombia dollars and euros illegally obtained from Spain, the United States, Mexico and elsewhere," prosecutors said in a statement.

One of China's largest steelmakers plans to shed up to 50,000 jobs, its chairman said, as the country struggles to reduce overcapacity while growth in the world's second-largest economy slows.

The comments by Ma Guoqiang, the head of state-owned group Wuhan Iron and Steel, are a stark illustration of the challenges facing Beijing as it seeks to retool the economy while avoiding social unrest -- anathema to the leadership.

New Zealand has passed legislation banning 'zero hour' contracts, in what is thought to be one of the first laws in the developed world to end the use of deals criticized as exploitative.

Opposition Labor MP Iain Lees-Galloway was joined by his political opponents in supporting the Employment Standards Legislation Bill to end the use of the deals under which employees are required to be available for work but have no guaranteed minimum hours.

Oil prices rebounded in Asia Friday, but doubts over a planned meeting between producer giants including Russia and Saudi Arabia this month to discuss an output freeze held back gains.

Questions over the proposed March 20 meeting emerged after Iran declined to agree to any output cap as it ramps up production following the lifting of nuclear-linked sanctions in January.

Two units of a Cayman Islands financial institution have pleaded guilty to helping U.S. clients hide money as the U.S. crackdown on tax evasion reaches beyond Switzerland, officials said Wednesday.

Cayman National Securities and Cayman National Trust, affiliates of Cayman National Corporation, admitted in a U.S. federal court to conspiring with U.S. clients to hide more than $130 million in offshore accounts from the Internal Revenue Service and to evade taxes on income earned from those accounts, authorities said.