Asia’s largest budget carrier is in trouble, caught up in an anti-corruption investigation of Europe’s aerospace industry. Things could get worse. AirAsia Bhd. Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes stepped down for two months along with Chairman Kamarudin Meranun, after the airline was named in a 3.6 billion euro ($4 billion) settlement of bribery allegations against Airbus SE. Shares have fallen ...

There has been plenty of talk about how the coronavirus might affect politics in China, for example by eroding trust between the Chinese public and its leadership. In the US, however, the coronavirus is likely to have the opposite effect: Namely, to make the incumbent more popular and to increase the re-election chances of President Donald Trump. How the coronavirus ...

It may just take the likes of Paul Elliott Singer to make SoftBank Group Corp.’s Masayoshi Son adjust his approach. Singer’s Elliott Management Corp. has taken a $2.5 billion stake in the Japanese company — that’s about 3% — with a view to bend Son’s ear, the Wall Street Journal reported. Elliott confirmed to Bloomberg Opinion that it invested in ...

Coronavirus is spreading at an accelerating rate, but inappropriate quarantines and travel bans could cause more havoc than the disease itself. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a duty to protect human health, but also an obligation to protect the world’s citizens from the human rights violations or unnecessary economic hardship that panic could cause. So far, they’re doing a ...

Almost all of Asia’s central bankers have said the economic risks from the Wuhan coronavirus are significant. Then why aren’t they all taking action? In a slew of interest-rate meetings, policymakers have been all over the map. Thailand surprised most economists by reducing rates, while the Philippines cut and India held, as anticipated. The Reserve Bank of Australia acknowledged the ...

I can’t remember the last time I bought a pen. Why would I? The globe is covered with a great sloshing tide of writing implements that ebb and flow between restaurants and hotel lobbies, briefcases and bodegas. Pens trickle out of my purse into the world, and from the world back into my purse. The exception to this “Tide of ...

Not too long ago, tech enthusiasts were telling us that by 2020, we’d see self-driving cars hit the mainstream, with some 10 million on the roads. That turned out to be a wild overestimation. The actual number of vehicles in testing is thousands of times smaller, and they’re still driving mostly in controlled conditions. Companies have also scaled back their ...

Bloomberg US equity futures climbed alongside stocks in Europe and Asia as investors pushed benchmarks to record highs before commentary from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. Oil rose and Treasuries slipped. Contracts on the three main American gauges pared earlier gains but remained in the green ahead of Powell’s testimony before Congress, where the Fed chair will likely give hints ...

Bloomberg India stocks rose, rebounding from two days of losses, as investors assessed the impact of the federal budget on demand while earnings season for companies enters its last leg. The S&P BSE Sensex advanced 0.6%, the most in nearly a week, to 41,216.14 in Mumbai. It had risen as much as 1.1% on Tuesday. The NSE Nifty 50 Index ...

Bloomberg Euphoria around Bitcoin’s break above $10,000 over the weekend appears to be short-lived. The largest cryptocurrency found resistance just above that level, reaching as high as $10,194 on Sunday before pulling back, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It similarly struggled with that level in September when it crossed $10,000 — the month that followed saw it lose more ...