The inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris last week will help to reset an unbalanced nation. But the armed camp in which they took their oaths is testament to the precarious state of democracy in America. The loss of democratic muscle in the US over the past four years has been precipitous. It wasn’t simply the election of a ...

The next killer smartphone app has arrived — and it offers the potential to transform how we communicate, share knowledge and even make new friends. I am talking about voice-and-audio-based social networking startup Clubhouse. Its platform enables users to drop in and out of ephemeral chat rooms and take part in a range of gatherings, from small “water-cooler” type conversations ...

At her confirmation hearing, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said many cryptocurrencies are used “mainly for illicit financing, and I think we really need to examine ways in which we can curtail their use.” Although her written testimony says the government also needs to “look closely at how to encourage their use for legitimate activities,” it seems clear: More regulation of ...

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen a series of clashes in the UK between Boris Johnson and a bighearted 23-year-old soccer star called Marcus Rashford who campaigns to end child poverty. There’s only ever one winner in a sporting contest — and it’s not the prime minister, even with an 80-strong Conservative majority in the House of Commons. Johnson has joked ...

Bloomberg Dr Martens owner Permira Holdings and other shareholders are looking to raise as much as 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in an initial public offering of the shoemaker on the London Stock Exchange, betting on the enduring popularity of its cult leather boots. The company doesn’t plan to raise any money itself in the IPO. Private equity firm Permira ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM’s Dutch unit will keep operating long-haul flights as it reached a deal to have staff undergo a rapid Covid-19 test upon return to the Netherlands, eliminating the risk of leaving crews behind. KLM urged the Dutch government to exempt its staff from a new requirement for mandatory pre-departure virus testing. It said it would otherwise halt all ...

Bloomberg India’s domestic civil aviation operations continue steadily and the sector is nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. As many as 257,613 passengers flew locally as on January 22, compared with 30,000 passengers that traveled by air when such flights were restarted on May 25, Puri said in a Twitter post. “We are now within ...

Bloomberg Shiseido Co is in advanced talks to sell its shampoo and affordable skincare business to CVC Capital Partners for 150 billion to 200 billion yen ($1.45 billion-$1.9 billion), as the Japanese cosmetics maker shifts its focus to premium beauty products, people with knowledge of the matter said. The board of Shiseido is preparing to vote on the divestment soon, ...

Bloomberg Online fashion retailers Boohoo Group Plc and Asos Plc are seeking to rescue ailing UK retail mainstay brands like Debenhams and Topshop. Boohoo said it’s buying the Debenhams brand for 55 million pounds ($75 million). Separately, Asos Plc said it’s in exclusive talks with administrators of Philip Green’s Arcadia Group Ltd to buy the UK retailer’s Topshop brand and ...

Bloomberg Foreign tourist arrivals into Thailand plunged to the lowest level in at least 12 years after the country closed its borders to contain the coronavirus outbreak, with a resurgence in infections now undermining efforts to reopen the industry. Tourist arrivals slumped to 6.7 million in 2020 from 39.9 million a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Tourism and ...