August, 2021

• 23 August

  How schools can win parents’ trust

  

  A year and a half into the Covid-19 pandemic, schools are reopening amid more uncertainty than ever. Just about the only thing districts know for sure is that last year’s lockdowns and online learning were a disaster for the emotional health and academic progress of school-aged children — especially the poor — and that in-person instruction is beginning amid the ...

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• 23 August

  ‘Buy now, pay later’ is 200 years old concept

  Everything old is new again. Witness fintech giant Square’s recent acquisition of Afterpay, a company that enables consumers to buy now and pay later via regular payments administered by the Australia-based company. Afterpay appeals to young millennials eager to move beyond conventional forms of financing such as credit cards. This may seem cutting edge to the youngsters, but it’s nothing ...

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• 23 August

  Is China rushing into Afghanistan now?

  China won’t be rushing into Afghanistan any time soon — not to fill the political and security void left by the US and not to expand President Xi Jinping’s flagship Belt and Road project. However decisive the Taliban’s victory looks right now, the country is far too fragile for Beijing to contemplate anything other than a pragmatic diplomatic engagement with ...

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• 23 August

  Amazon’s $267b summer wipeout tests Wall Street

  

  Bloomberg It’s rare to see just about everyone on Wall Street agree on something, but that’s the case when it comes to Amazon.com. Every single analyst who rates the stock — all 55 of them — recommends clients buy it, according to Bloomberg data. Active fund managers “are even more overweight” the name now than they were a year ago, ...

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• 23 August

  Avelo targets East Coast with New Haven-Florida flights

  

  Bloomberg Avelo Airlines is expanding to the East Coast with service connecting four Florida cities with New Haven, Connecticut, in a bid to entice customers tired of trekking to airports in New York and Boston. Flights to Orlando begin on November 3, followed within days by service to Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Fort Myers, Avelo said. The startup plans to ...

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• 23 August

  Global airlines owed billions as governments withhold cash

  

  Bloomberg Airlines are owed almost $1 billion across 20 countries as governments seek to hang on to hard currency, depriving the industry of vital cash at a time when travel has been devastated by the coronavirus crisis. Figures published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that Venezuela is withholding a further $4 billion that’s been outstanding for years ...

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• 23 August

  Coach owner stockpiling handbags for holidays

  Bloomberg The owner of the Coach and Kate Spade brands is stockpiling its handbags and other accessories ahead of the holiday season to ensure it can meet consumer demand amid ongoing delays in the delivery of products from suppliers. “We find ourselves in a dynamic where the consumer demand backdrop is strong, while supply chain remains challenging,” Scott Roe, the ...

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• 23 August

  Macy’s jumps on sales outlook, renews investor payouts

  

  Bloomberg Macy’s Inc surged after the department-store operator reinstated its dividend and raised its sales guidance, a sign that consumers are returning to the apparel market after a lengthy pandemic slump. Same-store sales, a key retail metric, rose 61% for the company’s owned stores in the second quarter, Macy’s said in a statement. That’s above the 43% gain expected by ...

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• 23 August

  Canadian retail surges on shopping spree

  Bloomberg Retail sales in Canada rebounded as brick-and-mortar shops were allowed to reopen after months of Covid-19 shutdowns, though early data shows that momentum was short-lived. The value of receipts rose 4.2% in June, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. However, that bounce-back was quickly reversed in July with a preliminary estimate showing a 1.7% decline on the month. That brings ...

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• 22 August

  Biden aide says US sees ‘acute’ IS threat at Kabul Airport

  

  Bloomberg The US is placing “paramount priority” on defending crowds at Kabul airport seeking to leave Afghanistan against a potential IS terrorist attack, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said. “The threat is real, it is acute, it is persistent and it is something that we are focused on with every tool in our arsenal,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of ...

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