The onset of the Trump era forced economists to confront their doubts about their usefulness to the public. They shared this ordeal with political forecasters, Democrats, logicians and journalists. Maybe we all deserved the anguish. Those economists who remain in a funk should nonetheless snap themselves out of it. One reason is that the sappy self-loathing economist is now embarrassingly cliché. Take it from a sappy self-loathing […]
By Balazs Koranyi | FRANKFURT FRANKFURT Devastated by the collapse of its iconic wine industry over a century ago, France may have inadvertently discovered the ideal way for central banks to aid an economy in crisis – open up the purse strings. The Great French Wine Blight, caused by an infestation of phylloxera aphids, laid waste to much of the French countryside in the second half of […]
Alphabet contends that a manager at its autonomous car subsidiary Waymo took technical data with him when he left to launch a competing venture that went on to become Otto, Uber’s self-driving vehicle unit The race to develop self-driving vehicles took a new turn on Thursday when Google’s parent company Alphabet filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing it of stealing technology. Alphabet contends that a manager at […]
Should we try to time the market? And has the boom in passive investments brought any problems in its wake? The problems are linked and urgent. The move from traditional actively managed funds to passive indexed funds, which aim merely to track and index and reduce costs, continues to intensify. Meanwhile, if ever there was a point when it might seem right to time the market, and […]
Tesla Tesla has revealed plans to construct a total of five Gigafactories to cater to increased solar panel and electric vehicle (EV) battery demands. In a letter to shareholders (.PDF), the EV manufacturer, founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, Tesla said the company plans to finalize the locations for at least two more Gigafactories, if not three. “Later this year, we expect to finalize locations for Gigafactories 3, […]
By Rozanna Latiff and Emily Chow | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR VX nerve agent, a chemical on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in last week’s bizarre murder in a busy Kuala Lumpur airport, Malaysian police said on Friday. Kim Jong Nam died on Feb. 13 after being assaulted by two […]
By A. Ananthalakshmi and Liz Lee | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR VX, the chemical used in the airport murder Kim Jong Nam, is one of the deadliest chemical weapons created by man. Just 10 milligrams of the nerve agent or a single drop enough to kill in minutes, experts say. With the texture and feel of engine oil, VX was first produced in the United Kingdom in […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysian authorities will sweep the international airport and other locations for radioactive material, the police chief said on Friday, following the murder of Kim Jong Nam in which VX nerve agent, a highly toxic chemical, was used. “(We are looking to) sweep all locations that we knew the suspects went to. We will get the experts from the atomic energy department to go to the […]
Samsung Electronics will supply its NB-IoT solutions to compatriot telco KT Corporation, the companies have announced. NB-IoT, or Narrow Band-Internet of Things, is a standard set by 3GPP that allows IoT devices to be connected using low-power wireless technology. Samsung will upgrade KT’s radio station software and replace old radio stations. It will start building a virtual core (vCore) network for KT starting this month. Deployment of […]
The deadly nerve agent VX was used in the murder of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s brother, investigators in Malaysia said on Friday. Analysis of swabs from Kim Jong Nam’s eyes and face found VX, a chemical weapon, according to a preliminary report. It is described by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “the most potent of all nerve agents”, with a […]
By James Pearson and Jack Kim | SEOUL SEOUL The bizarre assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother marks a departure from the isolated country’s repertoire of overseas operations, according to experts on its opaque ruling structures. Kim Jong Nam died last week after being assaulted at the airport in the Malaysian capital with what police believe was a fast-acting poison. The two women […]
Photo Iraqi forces attacked the Mosul airport in an offensive to take the western side of the city from the Islamic State on Thursday. Credit Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces have seized most of Mosul’s airport, an important milestone in the broader offensive to retake from the Islamic State the western half of the city, allied and Iraqi officials said on Thursday. […]
For the first time in nearly half a century, the prized Apollo 11 command module Columbia will leave the National Air and Space Museum and go on a four-city tour. For the next two years, it will be the star of the exhibition called “Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission.” As the only piece of the spaceship that completed the first mission to bring humankind to the […]
By Humeyra Pamuk and John Davison | ISTANBUL/BEIRUT ISTANBUL/BEIRUT Turkey-backed rebels have seized the centre of the town of al-Bab from Islamic State, Turkish state media and rebels officials said on Thursday, marking a likely breakthrough in Ankara’s drive to wipe out the militant group in northern Syria. Turkey launched its Syrian operation, dubbed “Operation Euphrates Shield”, in August in an effort to push Islamic State from […]
By Praveen Menon | KUALA LUMPUR KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia is considering expelling North Korea’s envoy to the Southeast Asian nation or shutting its embassy in Pyongyang, as tensions escalate over the killing of the estranged half-brother of the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, a senior government official said. Kim Jong Nam, 46, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 with what police believe was […]
Vodafone Australia has reported a net loss of AU$241.8 million for the first half of FY17 on total revenue of AU$3.35 billion, an 8.4 percent year-on-year decrease. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were AU$912.2 million, a 12.2 percent increase from the AU$812.8 million reported for the first half of FY16. Net average revenue per user (ARPU) was AU$37.97, a loss of AU$7.71 from last […]
For the Arab world’s largest country, February 11, 2011, was the moment the 21st-century began. Hosni Mubarak, after decades in power, was finally pushed to step down after millions of people took the streets. Many things were born in Tahrir Square that day. Hope for the future. A new politics led by youth. A revolutionary current, as H A Hellyer puts in his new book A Revolution Undone. […]
Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl has distanced himself from a bid for Generali’s German life insurance business. There has been speculation that the French group could play a part in any break-up process that would follow the possible acquisition of Generali by Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo. However, speaking to the Financial Times on Thursday, Mr Buberl said that “buying a traditional life insurance business in Germany would […]
Stainless steel is regaining its shine. After falling victim like many other basic industries to the global commodities downturn, companies that specialise in the rustproof metal are enjoying a change in their fortunes. An upwards spiral in share prices, bigger profits and increased payouts to investors is helping to restore the lustre in this niche of the steel market. “It’s very clear we are now in a […]
BEIJING China’s defence ministry said on Thursday it was aware of the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in the South China Sea and China respected freedom of navigation for all countries in the waters there. The U.S. navy said the strike group, including the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson, began “routine operations” in the South China Sea on Saturday amid growing tension […]
BAGHDAD U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces closing in on the Islamic State-held western half of Mosul stormed the city’s airport and a nearby military base on Thursday, state television said. Counter-terrorism service (CTS) troops and elite interior ministry units known as Rapid Response descended on the airport early on Thursday and the nearby Ghozlani military complex, CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state TV. “Our forces started a major […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. A few months ago Vice founder Shane Smith fronted a superior Vice-HBO documentary, “A House Divided,” that detailed the issues, tactics and rancor that dominated Barack Obama’s relations with a Republican-dominated Congress. Now he sees “a perfect storm” that involves […]
KUALA LUMPUR Malaysia has requested Interpol to put an alert out to apprehend four North Korean suspects in the murder of Kim Jong Nam, Malaysia’s police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said on Thursday. The estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was killed in Kuala Lumpur’s main airport last week, in what South Korean and U.S. officials say was an assassination carried out by […]
Qantas has announced it successfully tested its on-board Wi-Fi system and expects to operate its first commercial service with free Wi-Fi in the next few weeks. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told shareholders on Thursday that the airline’s Wi-Fi offering will ultimately be rolled out to around 80 domestic aircraft, and later to Qantas’ international and regional fleets, noting that on-board Wi-Fi is the first item on […]
