Banks have structured some unusual and complex deals for European companies to raise capital through a combination of debt and equity derivatives in recent weeks, reflecting investor enthusiasm for convertible securities. Last week BASF launched a $600m bond bundled with warrants, in a so-called neutral structure which effectively makes the chemicals group a middleman between its investors and its banks. The deal, put together by Deutsche Bank, […]
Writing is a process – a set of predictable, repeatable steps in the journey to the finished work. While there are probably as many processes are there are writers, here are some of the identifiable steps. Explore: All good writers express a form of curiosity, a sense that something is going on out there. See your world as a storehouse of story ideas. Gather: Writers collect words, […]
A ground-breaking research in the field of neuroscience offers an in-depth analysis of the brain’s reward system, highlighting its influence on the decision-making process. The study encompasses three decades of investigation into the role of dopamine in everyday life choices and shows how the brain perceives different options, prioritizing those which prompt a better reward. For their outstanding merits, Professors Wolfram Schultz, Peter Dayan, and Ray Dolan received […]
The biggest impact investing deal to ever see the light of day — that is how a fascinating new hedge fund deal is being touted. Impact investing is the practice of trying to make a measurable, positive societal impact as well as making a financial return on your money. The US hedge fund Mariner Investment Group reckons it has found a way to turn an investment of about $150m into […]
MOSUL, Iraq: Crawl through a labyrinth of narrow tunnels in near total darkness and suddenly they appear: two great winged bulls dating from the Assyrian empire found intact under the ground of Mosul.But as fighting rages to evict the Daesh group from the main city in northern Iraq, it will be a race against time to save the archaeological treasures uncovered in the tunnels.The jihadists dug the […]
DUBAI // The emirate’s private schools are getting together to share their expertise and help raise standards. Educators from 58 schools in Dubai have taken part in the Knowledge and Human Development Authority-led Abundance Group project to promote good practice. “Research shows that what works best to improve teaching and learning across a whole education sector is collaboration between schools and teachers,” said Abdulla Al Karam, director […]
I still remember August 2, 1990, like it was yesterday. It was a Thursday, and I was awoken at 6.30am by a friend whose extended family were Kuwaiti. He told me that his brother-in-law was claiming that there were Iraqi troops in Kuwait City, and that he could hear gunfire and explosions. Like everybody else, I spent the weekend oscillating between shock, anger and fear. What did […]
Brazil’s economy shrank 3.6 per cent last year as high inflation, a runaway budget deficit and political turmoil drove the country to its worst recession on record. The contraction, which was felt across almost all economic sectors from industry to services, was slightly worse than economists’ estimates and only marginally better than 2015, when gross domestic product contracted 3.8 per cent. GDP in the final three months […]
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. When it comes to Russian hacking and other subterfuge, the obvious and unavoidable media and political talk involves either the Clinton presidential campaign or the Trump White House. As Bloomberg’s Michael Riley discloses, there’s more for the press to obsess […]
BEIJING China’s civil code pre-amble, expected to be passed next Wednesday by the National People’s Congress, promises to address a number of legal questions: – The pre-amble draft requires companies rights and obligations are determined in a “fair” and “reasonable” way. The previous principles only required “fairness”. Some lawyers say this could mean companies and individuals are compensated at market rates if they are forced to move […]
Although nine years have passed since the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and Foundation announced they would be building the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island and construction has not yet started, the head of the foundation has confirmed the museum is very much a reality. Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and Foundation said: “There is progress, we are moving forward towards building it […]
Credit: iStock/xavierarnau Michael Siminovitch, director of the California Lighting Technology Center at UC Davis, wasn’t looking for enlightenment when he wandered into a Buddhist temple in Thailand a few years ago. He was touring Thailand as a distinguished visiting professor at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi’s school of architecture. He’d never been to a temple in his life. The temple was a highly crafted, architectural marvel, […]
07 March 2017 Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), rose 6.9% in January 2017 compared to the year-earlier period. While this was down from the 10% annual growth recorded in December 2016 it still was well above the average annual growth rate of 3% over the past five years. Growth […]
Stacie Overton Johnson More than a dozen international chefs will share their culinary skills at this year’s event. Don’t miss your chance to meet and cook with these masters. Here are three to watch: Michel Roux Jr Michel Roux Jr is a British chef who leads the kitchen at Le Gavroche, a London restaurant that holds two Michelin stars. Roux will be cooking roast pigeon with peaches, […]
In 2004, the U.S. banned cigarettes in all federal prisons and it was pretty much the best thing that could have happened to the packaged mackerel industry (yes, you read that correctly…the packaged fish). So how did a smelly package of fish become the gold standard of America’s federal prisons? Well, for a variety of reasons (we’ll let your imagination run wild) prisoners are not allowed to […]
I recently attended the DNS Privacy Workshop colocated with this year’s NDSS 2017 in San Diego, California. DNS privacy has received considerable attention from researchers and engineers since the Snowden revelations of state-backed pervasive surveillance in 2013 and the workshop covered a lot of ground. For some Internet users, anonymity is critically important and a service like ToR exists to obfuscate the location and browsing habits of […]
By Sophie Louet and Claude Canellas | PARIS/BORDEAUX PARIS/BORDEAUX Francois Fillon fought off a rebellion that had threatened to end his candidacy for the French presidency on Monday as party leaders swung behind the centre-right former prime minister despite allegations that he had misused public funds. Hours after party heavyweight Alain Juppe ruled out challenging Fillon, the conservative Republicans’ party leadership unanimously backed their beleaguered candidate, Senate […]
President Donald Trump is siding with rightwing news outlets over his own FBI director in a dispute over unsubstantiated claims that former President Barack Obama ordered the wiretapping of Mr Trump during last year’s election. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said on Monday that the president does not accept FBI director James Comey’s dismissal of Mr Trump’s weekend claim that Mr Obama had tapped the […]
Do you use Google Chrome? Do you want to become a Google Chrome guru? Read on! What follows are a collection of tips, tricks, and tools to help you get the most from Google Chrome. There are tips on speeding up the browser and making it consume less RAM, ways to increase your privacy, and extensions that you can install to help you get more done in […]
If the Galaxy S8 leaks keep coming in at this rate, there won’t be anything left for Samsung to announce at its big March 29 launch event. The latest leak potentially reveals what it’ll be like to use the phone without a physical home button. Three images and a 5-second video posted by Slash Leaks show the Galaxy S8 in, uh, some of its glory. The first […]
BANGKOK Thai veterinarians on Monday removed 915 coins from a 25-year-old sea turtle which had been swallowing items thrown into her pool for good luck, eventually limiting her ability to swim. The coins and other objects removed from the turtle named Omsin – piggy bank in Thai – weighed 5 kg (11 lb). The turtle itself weighed 59 kg (130 lb). The green sea turtle, living at […]
If my post-election reading and conversations I’ve had with politically active individuals is any indication, Facebook played a big role in the 2016 race. Starting last summer through Nov. 8, my Facebook feed was heavily populated with political commentary from those on both sides of the political coin. With 1.8 billion users, Facebook has become one of the world’s most influential communication mediums, and its […]
For an organisation to succeed, there’s no room for petty fighting between marketing and tech. Image: Przemyslaw Koch, Getty Images/iStockphoto Long gone are the days when the CIO alone was responsible for buying technology in a business. Just as likely now is that the marketing chiefs will be expected to procure and use digital tools to build brands and boost customer experiences. So how can CIOs and […]
WASHINGTON Republican U.S. lawmakers expect to unveil this week the text of long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace the Obamacare healthcare law, one of President Donald Trump’s top legislative priorities, a senior Republican congressional aide said on Sunday. Since taking office in January, Trump has pressed his fellow Republicans who control Congress to act quickly to dismantle former Democratic President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act and pass […]
