Opinion

After eight months of chaos and more than 1 million deaths worldwide, we might soon have a vaccine for the novel coronavirus. With as many as 150 vaccines in development — nearly 40 in late-stage clinical trials — it could come by the end of this year, although most experts see 2021 as more likely. Getting a vaccine is one ...

Something big is missing from Singapore’s picturesque and impeccably maintained highway linking downtown with Changi Airport: traffic. The collapse in international travel has hit the city-state especially hard. Borders are shut to tourists and much of Singapore Airlines Ltd’s proud fleet is mothballed. The idea of “flights to nowhere” had even been floated — effectively three-hour sight-seeing trips that would ...

Russia has done better than expected in the face of a pandemic and unprecedented oil crisis. That relative stability masks weaknesses that will impede its ability to recover fast, even if it can limit the cost of a second wave. Coronavirus cases are surging again: Russia reported nearly 11,000 new infections on October 05, the most since mid-May. Only around ...

Just as the Chinese duo of Jack Ma and Pony Ma have carved up major chunks of their country’s internet businesses, the battle for control of 1.3 billion Indians’ data could become a two-horse race. The contest would get under way if, as reported by Bloomberg News, Tata Sons Pvt brings in financial or strategic investors. The holding company of ...

Ever since LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE said it was walking away from Tiffany & Co, the question has been why? The obvious answer is that LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault is trying to shave the $16 billion purchase price that now looks too high given the damage inflicted on the luxury industry by Covid-19. But saving a couple of ...

When economic historian Charles Kindleberger charted the rise of financial centres around the world in 1973, he doubted London could take the top spot in Europe’s growing union of states: “Sterling is too weak, and British savings too little.” Instead, after assessing various cities’ economies of scale and corporate pulling power, he plumped for Brussels. He was clearly betting on ...

Losses in the main US stock indexes will go down in history simply as small ones in an otherwise choppy week. But assessed in more detail, they provide a remarkable example of the intense tug-of-war that now grips markets and will most likely persist, if not intensify, in the weeks ahead. Two news developments dominated the run-up to the US ...

When Boris Johnson announced on March 27 that he’d tested positive for Covid-19, Brits were in shock, much as Americans were when they heard President Donald Trump was infected. The UK prime minister was the first leader of a major country to be hospitalised with the virus, an event that was characterised as “routine” at first before the illness took ...

In recent weeks, India’s government has shown unusual amounts of energy in pushing through long-awaited economic reforms. The last session of Parliament — cut short when several MPs tested positive for Covid-19 — was exceptionally productive. Two labour-law amendments were passed, as was a package of measures addressing the agricultural sector. However you look at it, these moves take India ...

In many cases, the pandemic has served to entrench the previously existing winners and losers in the retail sector. Chains such as Macy’s Inc and Kohl’s Corp, already deeply challenged before the public health crisis, look no closer to a turnaround. Walmart Inc and Target Corp, meanwhile, have solidified their dominance with turbocharged sales. Against that backdrop, the latest quarterly ...