This wasn’t the start to the New Year Boris Johnson envisaged. Just weeks after beating the western world to approving the first vaccine against Sars-Cov-2 and launching a massive inoculation campaign, the Prime Minister was left to solemnly declare that the UK is facing a “perilous” moment. His warnings are reminiscent of the first lockdown when Britons were told they ...

Just because something is unlikely doesn’t mean it’s not worth worrying about it. A sudden return of inflation after years of weak price pressures fits right into this category. The euro zone is particularly exposed to a sudden return of inflation. The European Central Bank’s (ECB) loose monetary policy has played an essential role in preserving financial stability in the ...

Facebook Inc has long defended its lackadaisical approach to misinformation by saying that if it imposed stricter conditions, such content would proliferate elsewhere anyway. Far better to monitor conversation itself … or something. But pushing false information and incitement to violence to the darker recesses of the web would be better. Facebook’s line of reasoning has long seemed disingenuous, not ...

Big Oil faces that old political dilemma. You know the one. On the one hand, the industry’s chosen party has its back on regulation and climate policy. On the other, the same party also tried to overturn the result of a democratic election in favour of a president who encouraged a mob to attack the Capitol, thereby endangering our whole ...

Bloomberg Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc, the Canadian convenience-store operator that owns the Circle K chain, is exploring a takeover of French grocer Carrefour SA, a deal that would create a trans-Atlantic retail giant. Couche-Tard said it has started “exploratory discussions” on a friendly deal with Carrefour, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. There’s no certainty the talks will lead to a ...

Bloomberg British Airways Plc faces the largest privacy class-action lawsuit in UK history over its 2018 customer data breach. More than 16,000 victims have now joined a case seeking compensation from the airline. They could claim 2,000 pounds ($2,724) each, according to PGMBM, the law firm representing the claimants. “We trust companies like British Airways with our personal information and ...

Bloomberg The US House prepared to vote on a history-making second impeachment of Donald Trump as lawmakers seethed over his role inciting last week’s mob attack on the Capitol and the president’s once-firm control over the Republican party began to break down. Trump’s impeachment appeared inevitable in a vote Democrats anticipated, with the resolution’s sponsors claiming broad support from Democrats ...

Bloomberg The Trump administration declassified its strategy to ensure continued dominance over China, which focuses on accelerating India’s rise as a counterweight to Beijing and the ability to defend Taiwan against an attack. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien announced the publication of the document, titled “United States Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific.” Approved by President Donald Trump in February 2018, ...

Bloomberg Chinese state media urged action to keep Hong Kong elections from becoming a “tool for anti-China and trouble-making forces,” raising the prospects for more measures to curb dissent in the Asian financial hub. The People’s Daily newspaper, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, said in a commentary that those found to be disloyal must not be allowed to ...

Bloomberg Some analysts are turning even more bullish on India’s best-performing large-cap stock in 2020. In just about two weeks, at least four brokerages have raised their price targets on Divi’s Laboratories Ltd., one of the top producers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), with Jefferies India Pvt.’s estimate — which targets a 21% gain over the next 12 months from ...