Bloomberg Prime Minister Najib Razak is doubling down on his traditional vote banks in an election manifesto, pledging that under his government Malaysians would live “peacefully and prosperously.†His Barisan Nasional coalition is pledging to introduce a law for Shariah-compliant property sales, help ethnic Malay farmers resolve their debts, build more affordable housing for the police and military, and ensure ...
Read More »Blog Layout
US needs China more than China needs the US
Not one to be outdone by any adversary, Donald Trump has upped the ante in a rapidly escalating trade war with China, threatening an additional $100 billion of tariffs on top of the initial round of $50 billion. In doing so, the Trump administration is failing to appreciate a crucial reality: The United States needs China more than China needs ...
Read More »In property, HNA finds a handy saviour
Real estate is fast turning out to be the gift that keeps on giving for troubled conglomerate HNA Group Co. Under pressure to reverse a multibillion-dollar buying spree to pare its debt load, HNA is in the midst of a fire sale. It seems property is the answer. In February, HNA sold two parcels of land on the site of ...
Read More »Global shipping is part of the climate problem, too
When almost all the world’s governments agreed in Paris more than two years ago to address climate change, they sidestepped an important issue: carbon emissions from international shipping. Next week in London, they have a chance to put this right. Shipping is by far the most energy-efficient mode of transport, and it moves some 80 percent of world trade by ...
Read More »Brewing trade war will leave markets with few winners
In the childhood tale, Goldilocks ate the porridge, sat in the chair and slept in the bed until the bears showed up to settle the score. And so it was in markets last year, as each downdraft was followed by a stronger updraft as investors responded to economic and financial conditions that were just right. But this year, the bears ...
Read More »Big Tech needs strict privacy principles, not a breakup
A new idea has come into vogue — breaking up Big Tech. The list of people calling for antitrust action against Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, and other big tech companies is growing. New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway has lead the charge, arguing that these companies’ size and technological disruption have lead to a host of social ills, from ...
Read More »Don’t worry about the ethics of self-driving cars
Self-driving cars keep killing people. Just in the past few weeks, one crashed into a highway barrier and another ran over a pedestrian. This will inevitably lead to much hand-wringing about the ethics of the algorithms that drive autonomous vehicles. Yet tragic as such accidents might be, I have a hard time caring. I don’t even see the issue as ...
Read More »What government interest is served by disenfranchising felons?
The bumpy path of Desmond Meade’s life meandered to its current interesting point. He is a graduate of Florida International University law school but cannot vote in his home state because his path went through prison: He committed non-violent felonies concerning drugs and other matters during the 10 years when he was essentially homeless. And Florida is one of eleven ...
Read More »Banks see fast pace for Mideast, Africa deals in ‘bumper year’
Bloomberg Asset sales from Saudi power plants and football clubs to African energy firms are set to help deliver a bumper year for deals in the region. Investment banks expect the pace of transactions in the Middle East and Africa to gain momentum after a busy first quarter. Mergers and initial public offerings in the first three months of 2018 ...
Read More »China forex reserves up as dollar weakness continues
BEIJING / Reuters China’s foreign exchange reserves rose slightly in March as broad US dollar weakness continued and escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies bolstered expectations of a firmer Chinese currency. Reserves rose $9 billion in March to $3.143 trillion, compared with a drop of $27 billion in February, central bank data showed on Sunday. Economists polled ...
Read More »