For years, editors have mocked the sports section, calling it the “toy department” of the newspaper. The unflattering moniker was applied to sports pages because they didn’t usually concern themselves with serious news like politics, the meat-and-potatoes of many newsrooms. Now, with the election of Donald Trump and the ascendency of politically minded athletes, that distinction is getting thrown out the window. So says Bryan Curtis, an […]
Uber on Friday confirmed the existence of a controversial programme that used a fake version of its app to confuse unwitting regulators and competitors trying to order cars. The secret weapon — codenamed Greyball — has been used during the ride-hailing company’s battles with regulatory authorities and rivals around the world over several years. It operates by displaying car icons in random locations and automatically cancelling rides […]
With its high growth rates and huge potential, battery demand is a key focus for metals markets. If 2016 was all about lithium, then 2017 should see cobalt start to attract greater attention. Prices have already accelerated to levels last seen in 2011, as rising demand from the core portable electronics meets relatively stagnant supply growth. And while risks remain — technological on the demand side and […]
Deutsche Bank said on Friday night that it was laying the groundwork for a “potential capital raise of approximately €8bn” as well as considering several other strategic adjustments as it aims to revive its fortunes after a torrid 12 months. Alongside the capital increase, Germany’s biggest lender said it could garner further funds by selling a minority stake in its asset management arm. It is also considering […]
Investors are aggressively betting against US shopping centres using a derivatives index of commercial mortgage-backed securities that has slumped 10 per cent from its peak in January. The health of the US retail industry has been declining for several years but recent lacklustre holiday sales, alongside rising interest rates and a stronger dollar, have reflected the intensifying pressure across the roughly $150bn industry for commercial mortgages tied […]
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage couldn’t get elected member of UK parliament, so he became a member of European Parliament. He also couldn’t get knighted by the Queen of England, so he naturally opted for the next best thing: Being knighted by a young girl with a plastic sword on Russia-funded television network RT. You can watch the heartwarming ceremony here: The ceremony didn’t stop with the plastic sword, […]
More than two hours of TV per day affects early academic skills in kindergartners, according to a new study by NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development in collaboration with Université Sainte-Anne (Canada). The research revealed too much TV decreases school readiness especially in children from low-income households. The alarming discovery urges parents to limit the time children spend on watching TV, with emphasis on […]
NBCUniversal has ramped up its partnership with Snap, investing $500m in the owner of disappearing messaging app Snapchat’s initial public offering. The Comcast-owned television group bought shares at $17 apiece this week. With shares jumping 44 per cent in their first day of trading on Thursday, and rising a further 14 per cent on Friday, NBCU’s stake is now worth more than $820m. The stake is the […]
A tell-tale sign of a booming equity market is a hot technology listing and the blockbuster debut by Snap, duly summoned memories of the dotcom era. Shares in the parent of the popular messaging app surged more than 40 per cent in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday where the fresh-faced co-founders rang the opening bell to cheers from the trading floor. On Friday, they […]
Poynter announced today that longtime national and foreign correspondent Indira Lakshmanan is joining the institute as its Craig Newmark Chair for Journalism Ethics. Lakshmanan, currently The Boston Globe’s Washington columnist, has worked for newspapers, a wire service, digital and print magazines, TV and radio. The new position, which is funded by a $1 million gift from Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, will focus on best practices of verification, […]
Oman is now getting attention for what’s hidden underneath its craggy peaks. Majlis Al Jinn has the world’s ninth largest cave chamber, while the pools and caverns of Wadi Bani Khalid and Wadi Shab attract a growing number of visitors every year. Of the country’s many caves, Al Hootah is the only one with guided tours, and it reopened earlier this season four-years after severe floods in […]
Beijing is banning Chinese tour groups from visiting South Korea, the latest retaliation against the planned Korean deployment of the US-built Thaad missile shield, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Wang Ki-young, a director at South Korea’s culture ministry, said on Friday that Chinese authorities had ordered tourism agencies in Beijing to halt tours to South Korea from mid-March. Mr Wang said the move […]
March 3, 2017 by: Jamie Chisholm, Global Markets Commentator Friday 08:35 GMT Overview Stock markets are retreating as Wall Street equity futures dip further from this week’s record high as investors cash in some of their bullish bets on stronger growth following the election of US president Donald Trump. The pullback comes amid heightened expectations that the improving economic scenario will encourage the Federal Reserve to increase […]
Core inflation has returned to Japan for the first time since 2015, with consumer prices excluding fresh food rising by 0.1 per cent in January over the same month a year earlier. The return to positive territory was driven by energy — petrol prices jumped 9.2 per cent year-on-year after big drops in 2016 — but the rise will be welcome news for the Bank of Japan. […]
China’s 200 richest lawmakers are worth more than $500bn, according to the Hurun Report, which tracks the fortunes of the country’s wealthiest people. The Communist party officially welcomed private-sector business people into its fold in 2002, when the Chinese economy was the world’s sixth-largest. Their wealth has since soared in tandem with the Chinese economy, which is now second only to that of the US. According to […]
Uber’s US rival Lyft is seeking $500m in a new fundraising round to provide fresh ammunition as the transportation company takes its fight with Uber to a growing number of US cities, according to two people close to the process. The fundraising comes at a time when Uber has been struggling with a series of public relations crises, including allegations of sexual harassment and a video of […]
She was arrested and charged with supporting terrorism, not because of her novels but as a result of her affiliation, as an adviser, with a newspaper linked to the Kurdish movement that has since been shut down. She still faces a trial that could land her back in prison, and with that hanging over her, she has been living with her mother, sleeping late, not writing much […]
ABU DHABI // Students from United Arab Emirates University have designed an environmentally-friendly car to compete in an eco-marathon in Singapore this month. The vehicle – made from synthetic materials, plastic and carbon fibre – will be raced against 100 teams from March 16 to 19. The students, who are competing in the marathon for the first time this year, took 4 months to design, build and […]
Pre-orders, the video game industry’s nasty push to coax you into exchanging money for products before they’re released, are awful offerings. Busted launches, abusive DRM, and general industry shenanigans have made it a foolish endeavor to give publishers money before hardware or software is thoroughly analyzed by journalists, influencers, or hardcore fan communities. Yet, I pre-ordered a Nintendo Switch without hesitation. I recognize my hypocrisy […]
March 2, 2017 by: Nic Fildes, Telecoms Correspondent Deutsche Telekom has taken a €2.2bn charge on its investment in BT, pushing the German group to a fourth-quarter loss in 2016. Europe’s largest telecoms company blamed the Brexit vote, a decline in the value of sterling and the collapse in BT’s share price for the write-off. It holds a 12 per cent stake in BT which has been […]
CK Chow struck a cautious note at the start of the week when revealing the Hong Kong Exchange’s annual results. With average daily turnover down 37 per cent, the exchange chairman’s wariness was understandable as he talked of a “challenging” outlook and volatile markets. Yet such caution is out of step with the mood in the market. Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng index and the Hang Seng […]
The Bank of Japan published detailed schedules of planned asset purchases for the first time on Tuesday as it seeks to prove its commitment to a zero per cent cap on 10-year government bond yields. Japan’s central bank said it will buy a minimum of ¥1.375tn and a maximum of ¥2.175tn of government bonds during March, giving a series of dates and estimated sizes for its planned […]
Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Fosun International are among several Asian groups that have submitted bids for Q-Park, one of Europe’s largest parking lot operators, in a deal that could fetch more than $2.4bn. China Oceanwide, a Beijing-based conglomerate owned by a billionaire banking magnate, and Shougang Group, a state-owned Chinese steel company, also joined the first round of bidding on the Netherlands-based parking group, two people familiar […]
In 2011, the Kabul foreign press corps numbered 85, by the reckoning of Dominic Medley, who has worked here for many years as a press officer for NATO, the American military and the United Nations. The American military was surging, reaching more than 100,000 troops by 2012. The press surged as well, with regular visitors in addition to the resident press corps, plus dozens of reporters going […]
