Donald Trump’s threat in Sunday night’s presidential debate to appoint a special prosecutor to go after Hillary Clinton’s use of a private e-mail server is legally empty — but it’s genuinely dangerous nevertheless. Federal regulations give the appointment power to the attorney general, not the president, precisely to protect us against a president who uses the special prosecutor as a ...
Read More »Blog Layout
Low interest rates will be around for a while
When I talk to friends in asset management, I often hear them express a deep, gnawing worry about low interest rates. Fears that low rates would spark inflation, or cause governments to default on their debt, seem to have receded. I don’t hear many people talk about a “bond bubble†anymore. But one big concern won’t go away — the ...
Read More »Subtle age discrimination gets a court’s blessing
Noah Feldman A company puts out word that it’s hiring: recent college graduates only, no experienced salespeople need apply. That’s age discrimination, right? Not according to a ruling from a federal appeals court last week. Overturning a half-century of practice, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit held that job applicants can’t benefit from the disparate-impact provision ...
Read More »DED to fortify Dubai’s Islamic economy capital initiative
DUBAI / Emirates Business The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai unveiled on Monday the ‘Global Islamic Business Excellence Centre’ (GIBEC), which aims to expand Islamic economic activities beyond Islamic finance and contribute to the development of an Islamic business ecosystem in line with the emirate’s Islamic economy capital initiative. The Centre will also institute the ‘Global Islamic ...
Read More »IHAF to address unification of Halal industry
DUBAI / Emirates Business As visionaries, industry leaders and policymakers come together for this year’s Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES), the International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF) is set to take the stage to push the Halal standardisation agenda forward. HE Mohamed Saleh Badri, Secretary-General of IHAF, said: “The GIES presents an ideal opportunity for IHAF to discuss among key ...
Read More »Global Islamic Economy Summit to begin today
DUBAI / Emirates Business The third Global Islamic Economy Summit 2016 is all set to start at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai under the theme “Inspiring Changeâ€. Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the two-day summit is organised by Dubai Chamber of ...
Read More »China’s Alibaba buys stake in Spielberg firm
Beijing / AFP Chinese internet billionaire Jack Ma has bought a stake in cinema legend Steven Spielberg’s company, they said, the latest tie-up between China and Hollywood as they seek to make movies for audiences in the Middle Kingdom and beyond. Alibaba Pictures, a unit of Ma’s sprawling e-commerce conglomerate, has taken a minority shareholding in Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, ...
Read More »Vietnamese court rejects lawsuits over fish deaths
HANOI / AP A court in central Vietnam rejected lawsuits from hundreds of fishermen seeking compensation from a Taiwanese steel company for losses caused by its release of toxic chemicals that killed a large number of fish and caused one of the country’s worst environmental disasters. Catholic priest Dang Huu Nam, who helped the fishermen file the lawsuits at ...
Read More »Noble Group sells $1.5bn US business
Singapore / AFP Beleaguered Asian commodities trader Noble Group said on Monday it has agreed to sell its North American energy business to US power generator Calpine Corp for a total $1.05 billion. The Singapore-listed firm said the sale brings it closer to completing an initiative to raise $2.0 billion in capital as it strengthens its finances to turn ...
Read More »Sri Lanka eyes $3.5bn post-war tourism boom
Colombo / AFP Sri Lanka aims to make a record $3.5 billion from tourism this year on the back of its improved rights record under a new government after years of ethnic war, its tourism minister said on Monday. Tourism on the Indian Ocean island suffered heavily during a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009, but has been ...
Read More »