Clive Crook Listening to Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican convention, and scanning the reaction to it, I have the sinking feeling that he might win in November. He’s extremely effective at what he does. His critics, on the other hand, are not. The speech was purest populism: nine-tenths grievances and empty promises, one-tenth stupid policy ideas. Yet the ...

  Despite China’s great power aspirations, its cyber warriors threw a fit after losing a legal battle to the Philippines in The Hague. Within hours of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s unanimous rebuke of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea last week, at least 68 national and local government websites in the Philippines were knocked offline in a ...

  Bloomberg Skanska AB, the Swedish construction company that built the City of London’s landmark Gherkin building, lowered its outlook for U.K. non-residential construction after the country voted to leave the European Union. “Ahead of the Brexit vote, private developers were in a wait-and-see mode and refrained from starting projects — that cautiousness has continued after the referendum,” Chief Executive ...

  Bloomberg Sales of London homes under construction slumped 34 percent in the second quarter as the prospect of a vote to leave the European Union damped demand already hurt by higher taxes. The number of residences sold before completion fell to about 4,600 from 6,974 a year earlier, according to data compiled by researcher Molior London . A spokesman ...

  Shanghai / AFP China’s property giant Wanda, owned by the country’s richest man Wang Jianlin, has signed an MOU to sell a historic Madrid skyscraper to a Spanish developer for €272 million, the company said. Wanda plans to sell all shares of Wanda Madrid Development, which holds the 25-storey Edificio Espana, to Spain’s property developer Baraka Global Investment, its ...

  Bloomberg A group led by US real estate investor Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets, said second-quarter profit rose 2 percent as it earned more from real estate sales and its credit portfolio gained. Economic net income, a measure of earnings that reflects both realized and unrealized investment gains, increased to $520 million, or 44 ...

  DETROIT / AP A two-storey, wood-frame house became the 10,000th vacant building torn down under Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s massive plan to eliminate blight as the city continues dealing with abandoned properties following a population decline. An excavator was used to quickly tear down the house on Marlowe Street on Detroit’s northwest side. The demolition of 10,000 buildings is ...

  Bloomberg US home prices rose 5.6 percent in May from a year earlier as buyers competed for a scarcity of listings. Prices climbed 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said in a report from Washington. The average estimate of 18 economists was for a 0.4 percent gain, according to the ...

  Bloomberg Tengda Construction Group Co., which builds municipal infrastructure projects in China, plans to form a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) hydrogen industry fund to finance fuel cells and vehicles powered by the gas. The Taizhou, Zhejiang-based company, agreed to partner with Chang’An International Trust Co., Oriental Patron Financial Group and Bestone Asset Management Co. for the fund, it ...

  RITIKA SHARMA / Emirates Business As the UAE takes strides towards promoting environment initiatives, companies in the country are also leading the eco-march by example. In a recent and much-talked-about event, when UAE-based hotels chain ‘TIME Hotels’ grabbed the prestigious Green Key Award, the message went out loud and clear — that UAE is committed to the best when ...