Here’s a fact that ought to startle every American who assumes that because we spend nearly a trillion dollars a year on defense, we have primacy over our emerging rival, China. “Over the past decade, in US war games against China, the United States has a nearly perfect record: We have lost almost every single time.” That’s a quote from ...

Just as some US states begin to reopen and try to mend the virus-stricken economy, Warren Buffett delivered a harsh reminder that things may be anything but normal for a long time. The crisis has spooked America’s forever optimist so much so that he’s fled the airline industry entirely, and now even certain automobile and banking stocks, according to a ...

Universal basic income (UBI) was a popular topic in the US before Covid-19 — in a theoretical sense. Now a pandemic is providing a tragic preview of some of the conditions UBI was conceived to address. And, though there are some important qualifications, Covid-19 is making UBI look better. Up until a few months ago, the argument for UBI was ...

The world’s tourism hot spots are gradually reopening after the great lockdown, but they don’t look very alluring. Going to the beach will require spacing out parasols, while a city break in Europe might mean keeping a mask on while shopping. Not to mention the quarantines being imposed to limit imported infections, hardly a great way to start a vacation. ...

Bloomberg For middle-class Americans in the 20th century, JC Penney was one of the first places to look when you needed work pants, toys or towels, chairs or china. Even if you didn’t live anywhere near one of its stores, the iconic mail-order catalog made its goods available to anyone. As Penney’s longtime slogan promised, “It’s All Inside.” But as ...

Bloomberg Air France-KLM will offer refunds to customers whose flights were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic in a policy reversal that could put further pressure on the struggling carrier’s balance sheet. The airline will give travellers a choice between a reimbursement or a voucher for a future flight worth 15% more than the initial ticket value, according to a ...

Bloomberg Ethiopian Airlines Group sees African air traffic returning to pre-coronavirus crisis levels quicker than the rest of the world, boosted by a temporary spike in demand from stranded citizens returning home. Governments of countries including Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar closed their borders before or almost immediately after confirming their first Covid-19 cases, leaving thousands of business, student and health ...

Bloomberg Air Canada will cut at least 20,000 jobs, or about half its workforce, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian Press reported. The job cuts will be effective from June 7 and could affect as many as 22,800 workers, according to an internal company email seen by the Canadian Press. The downsizing will reduce the airline’s workforce by 50% to ...

Bloomberg Nike Inc has been among the chief beneficiaries of a “significant acceleration in athletic apparel/footwear trends” over the past couple of weeks as stores in several states began reopening after the Covid-19 pandemic closed all but essential businesses across the country, according to Credit Suisse Securities analyst Michael Binetti. “Athletic trends looked very bad” at the start of the ...

Bloomberg President Donald Trump moved to replace State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, an Obama administration appointee who featured briefly in the Ukraine impeachment saga, according to a letter he sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump wrote that “it is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general.” “That is no longer the ...