Over the years, I have often written about Silicon Valley’s desire for Washington to stay out of its hair. Except for lucrative defense contracts, the tech industry would prefer to work unrestrained by politics and government regulations. That trend lasted well into the early 1990s, but when Bill Clinton was running for president, John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and then-CEO of Cisco, John Chambers, figured […]
Eventually, you’re going to need extra storage—especially as modern technology enables higher-quality videos, photos, and other media. The SanDisk Extreme 900 Portable SSD ($499.99 for 960GB) is a versatile, higher-capacity solid-state drive (SSD) that can take its fair share of knocks. It’s not going to turn heads in terms of style, but if you’re looking for speedy transfers, the Extreme 900 should definitely be on your short […]
The Surface Phone is probably closer than most people think, at least according to a report by Chinese financial publication Commercial Times, who claims that Pegatron, a main supplier for Apple, is reportedly working with Microsoft and is already administering production trials of the enigmatic Surface Phone. Surface Phone Rumors The Surface-branded phone has enjoyed its wealth of rumors in recent months. Others predict it as a high-end […]
Creating diagrams, such as organizational charts and network infrastructure maps, used to require either a designer or a whole lot of patience. Not anymore. Diagramming app SmartDraw intuits the shapes and objects you’re going to put into a diagram based on the template you choose. It gives you buttons that quickly add the new elements, align them, and make them look professional. The program is dead simple […]
Opec’s most powerful members were rushing on Tuesday to rescue a supply deal designed to end the longest oil price crash in a generation. Saudi Arabia, Opec’s largest producer, and its arch rival Iran have both set out their positions ahead of Wednesday’s ministerial meeting in Vienna, with the kingdom hinting it could walk away from a deal if its conditions are not met and Tehran publicly […]
“Putin looks tough and wily, while America looks incompetent and unable to sustain its commitment, and that’s a big win because you have a lot of countries in the region which are re-evaluating their relationships,” Mr. Hokayem said. “Now, Russia is a relatively weaker power to the U.S., but with Trump there’s no expectation that the U.S. will serve as a guarantor of regional security, so Russia […]
While there is no sign of our collective obsession with social media fading any time soon, there is also a growing determination by some to cut all ties and go on a technology detox. It sometimes feels as if new platforms for posting, sharing and pontificating are appearing by the day. With so many outlets for people to share their opinions and views of the world, and […]
By Josh Smith | KABUL KABUL The U.S. military wants to replace Afghanistan’s well-worn fleet of Russian helicopters with American-made aircraft, according to a new budget proposal, a decision aimed at reducing the Afghan air force’s decades-long reliance on Russian equipment. The Afghan air force, trained and assisted by NATO advisers, has slowly gained strength, but remains too small to meet the needs of security forces struggling […]
By Sue-Lin Wong | DANDONG, China DANDONG, China A labour agent sat in his bus on a recent frigid morning, waiting to cross the “Friendship Bridge” at China’s main border post with North Korea. He had come to pick up migrant workers and take them to jobs in factories and restaurants in China. The single-lane bridge in the border city of Dandong is the main gateway for international trade […]
Saudi Arabia has set a high bar for any oil supply deal ahead of Wednesday’s Opec meeting in Vienna, as it attempts to put pressure on regional rivals Iran and Iraq to accept a larger share of output cuts. The oil production cartel is trying to reach an agreement to curb supplies for the first time since the financial crisis and put an end to a two-year […]
SEOUL South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) will consider splitting itself into two as proposed by U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management, Seoul Economic Daily reported on Monday citing an unnamed source. A split would allow the heirs of the founding Lee family to strengthen their grip on the global smartphone leader, the crown jewel of the Samsung Group business empire. Elliott proposed a split in […]
Theresa May will launch a charm offensive in a bid to win Polish support in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, as pressure grew to guarantee the status of migrant workers. Mrs May will host Polish prime minister Beata Szydło and other senior Polish politicians at a meeting in Downing Street on Monday that will focus on Brexit and defence co-operation, and seek to ease diplomatic tensions caused during […]
It’s laudable that Trump wants to bring factories back to USA. But how about virtual, monetary factories? Moving financial institutions such as banks, insurers, brokerage houses, exchanges, and other institutions brings the most bang for the buck when it comes to revitalizing America’s economy. As we explain in Splitting Pennies, even though money doesn’t exist, it’s the most important part of a healthy economy. The business climate […]
TOKYO Oil prices tumbled on Monday on fears that producer countries may fail to agree an output cut, pressuring U.S. stocks and the dollar as traders reversed their “Trumpflation” trade as weak oil prices would reduce pressure on U.S. interest rates to rise. That gave some relief to Asian shares, which had underperformed on worries about capital flight to higher-yielding U.S markets in the weeks since Donald […]
By Roberta Rampton and Dustin Volz | PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON PALM BEACH, Fla./WASHINGTON U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in a tweet on Sunday that he won the popular vote in the Nov. 8 election “if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally”, though he provided no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The allegation by Trump, who won the required votes in the Electoral College to […]
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih said on Sunday that he believed the oil market would balance itself in 2017 even if producers did not intervene in it. Any intervention will aim to expedite the balancing process, Falih told reporters at the headquarters of national oil giant Saudi Aramco. Under a preliminary agreement reached in September in Algeria, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would reduce […]
FRANKFURT German pilots union VC said on Sunday it was open to further talks with Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) to try to find a compromise over a long-running pay dispute that caused a four-day strike last week, adding the airline needed to present a new offer. “It will become clear in the course of the day how the dispute will continue,” a spokesman for VC told Reuters. Lufthansa said […]
What are the differences between a regular car and a racing car? What is it like to be in a high-speed accident on a race track? How do you master corners without losing control of your car when you are driving at breakneck speeds? A series of short programmes from the free-to-air Quest Arabiya channel attempts to answer these questions and more besides, as they explore everything […]
By Edward Taylor and Jan Schwartz | FRANKFURT/HAMBURG FRANKFURT/HAMBURG Just as Porsche and Audi have fought for supremacy on the race track, the Volkswagen brands are now locked in a cut-throat battle to develop and manufacture the next generation of electric cars at a group embroiled in the “Dieselgate” scandal. Volkswagen Group denies that the kind of internal rivalry that it encouraged at the Le Mans 24 […]
November 27, 2016 by: Anne-Sylvaine Chassany in Paris French voters were heading to the polls on Sunday in a primary run-off contest predicted to give François Fillon the centre-right nomination and a good chance of becoming president of France next year. Mr Fillon, the former prime minister who unexpectedly surged to pole position with 44 per cent of the votes in a first round last Sunday, is […]
U.S., Peru seize $30 million in fake dollars, biggest bust ever | Reuters ‘+Reuters.inlinevideo.title+’ ‘+Reuters.inlinevideo.length+’ ‘); } WASHINGTON U.S. and Peruvian agents have seized a record $30 million in counterfeit dollars in the biggest netting of fake greenbacks ever by the U.S. Secret Service, the agency said on Thursday. The stash was discovered when more than 1,500 Peruvian police, along with Secret Service agents, carried out searches […]
By Ian Simpson and Roberta Rampton | WASHINGTON/WEST PAlM BEACH, Fla. WASHINGTON/WEST PAlM BEACH, Fla. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign will take part in a recount of Wisconsin votes in the U.S. presidential race, an effort Republican winner Donald Trump called “ridiculous” on Saturday. Wisconsin’s election board on Friday approved the recount requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. She has said she wants to guarantee the integrity […]
ASTANA Kazakhstan’s parliament called on Wednesday for the capital city to be renamed after President Nursultan Nazarbayev, a week ahead of a national holiday dedicated to the 76-year-old leader who has the power to accept or reject the proposal. The unanimous vote in favour of renaming Astana adds to the growing personality cult around Nazarbayev who has run the Central Asian country since 1989. Last week, Kazakhstan’s […]
Amid increasing social unrest, a collapsing currency (against the dollar), and an economy at a standstill, there has been another growing fear in India that has spooked many around the world. The rumors and speculation of an Indian gold import ban (or even an outright ban on gold ownership) have sparked panic-buying of the precious metal sending retail premia soaring at local jewelers. In an effort to […]
