Medicalising unpleasant character traits or bad behaviors by blaming them on “addictions” worsens the modern tendency to minimise individual responsibility. However, about your sports addiction… Imagine your brain on sports. It is not a pretty picture. The most wondrous thing in the universe is the human brain, and for decades yours has devoted much (most, to be honest) of its ...

You might not have thought it three months ago, when the spread of Covid-19 forced Qantas Airways Ltd to halt international flights and drove its shares to their biggest percentage drop in eight years. But a global pandemic could wind up being good news for the company. Australia’s dominant airline is now something close to a monopoly player. Virgin Australia ...

European Union countries are experimenting with new ways of dealing with the coronavirus. Germany, Portugal and Italy have all enforced selective or “smart” lockdowns, shutting down smaller regions in response to new outbreaks as opposed to bringing their entire countries to a halt. This approach is the only hope of returning to a more normal life as we wait for ...

The Silicon Valley innovation machine is the envy of the world. It’s where the most ambitious entrepreneurs go to start their world-changing companies. But President Donald Trump’s latest action to restrict immigration may needlessly risk the future of this key strategic asset. Perhaps, instead, we shouldn’t mess with something that is working. Trump signed an executive order that freezes access ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s biggest stockholder publicly backed a 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) government bailout, giving the rescue plan a major shot of momentum and boosting the airline’s shares and bonds just before a crunch vote. With Heinz Hermann Thiele declaring support after days of frenzied speculation about his intentions, the state rescue appears likely to secure the two-thirds backing ...

Bloomberg EasyJet Plc raised about 419 million pounds ($520 million) in a share sale, padding its coffers for the gearing up of flights as the European aviation sector emerges from the coronavirus lockdown. The stock offering, equal to almost 15% of the existing share base, was placed at the price of 703 pence a share, representing a 5% discount to ...

Bloomberg Swissport International AG plans to cut more than 4,500 jobs in Britain as the world’s biggest provider of airport ground and cargo handling services responds to a collapse in demand for air travel. The Zurich-based company, which is owned by troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co, needs to reduce employment to cope with a 50% drop in revenue this ...

Bloomberg Qantas Airways Ltd will raise as much as A$1.9 billion ($1.3 billion) and cut at least 6,000 jobs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep carriers around the world largely grounded. The Australian airline said on Thursday also that 15,000 workers will remain furloughed, particularly those tied to international operations. The carrier’s entire fleet of 12 Airbus A380 superjumbos, ...

Bloomberg CEC Entertainment Inc, the parent of Chuck E Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, filed for bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its locations and kept families at home. The filing in the Southern District of Texas US Bankruptcy Court makes CEC the latest in a string of companies upended by Covid-19. Lockdowns have drained revenue, keeping consumers at ...

Bloomberg Indian and Chinese troops remain in a standoff at their contested Himalayan border, days after both sides promised peace following their worst military clash in 45 years. About 50 square kilometres of land earlier controlled by India in the Pangong Tso area — a glacial lake at about 14,000 feet in the Tibetan plateau — is now being held ...