If you want to know where cryptocurrencies are in their development, keep an eye on fees. When a new “investment” comes along, investors are often too busy counting their anticipated bounty to care about cost. Shrewd purveyors predictably seize the opportunity to charge excessive fees. But reality inevitably falls short of investors’ expectations, and the focus eventually turns to how ...

One of the more mystifying features of recent economic debate is how many people seem unbothered by the very real possibility of an old-fashioned trade war. Donald Trump, of course, relishes the possibility of such a battle — as he would, no doubt, any war he didn’t have to fight personally. Naturally, he’s convinced that the US would ‘win’ one. ...

The retail industry has plenty of reason to be upbeat in these early months of 2018. The holiday season was a roaring one, and Amazon.com Inc. didn’t claim all the spoils. Many big-name chains fared well, and consumer sentiment remains strong, suggesting the good times will keep rolling. But stepping back for a longer view of retail’s prospects, I’d caution ...

In Professor Dowell’s Head, a 1925 science fiction novel by Alexander Belyayev that was a must read when I was a kid, a dying scientist bequeaths his body to a colleague who then revives just the heart and the head. In this form, Professor Dowell lives on but hates it. The life of British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died on ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE’s deal to take a controlling stake in the Bombardier Inc. C Series jetliner programme could be finalised by the time of the Farnborough Air Show this summer, according to people familiar with the matter. Antitrust approval for the plan, which the planemakers had been seeking by the end of the year, is likely to come earlier than ...

Bloomberg The collapse of Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. is yet another blow for landlords, who now will have gaping holes of suburban retail space up for grabs. And few tenants would want them. The debt-laden toy chain, with more than 700 stores across the US, became one of the largest victims of the retail decline when it announced that it ...

Bloomberg Wesfarmers Ltd.’s plan to spin off its Coles supermarket and convenience stores could put the Australian retailing giant in play. The business, which generated A$39.2 billion ($30.5 billion) in sales from 2,500 stores in fiscal 2017, could be attractive to a buyer looking to make a big splash Down Under, Citigroup Inc.’s Sydney-based credit specialist Anthony Ip said. “We ...

Bloomberg In its race to catch Amazon.com Inc. in online retailing, Walmart Inc. issued misleading e-commerce results and fired an executive who complained the company was breaking the law, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit. Tri Huynh, a former director of business development at Walmart, claims he was terminated “under false pretenses” after repeatedly raising concerns about the company’s “overly aggressive ...

ABU DHABI / WAM Mohammed bin Kardous Al Ameri, Chairman of the Defence, Interior and Foreign Affairs Committee at the Federal National Council (FNC) met Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu), in Abu Dhabi. Al Ameri emphasised the importance of exchanging visits by the representatives of the parliamentary bodies of the two ...

DUBAI / WAM Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced on Saturday the completion of ‘The Exchange’ building. Located in DIFC’s Gate Village, The Exchange is a Ground + 8 storey building with a total leasable area of 147,000 sqft, of which 114,000 sq. ft. is office space and 33,000 sqft is retail space. The AED180 million building comprises 5 basement ...