August, 2021

• 1 August

  Credit Suisse just couldn’t say no to Archegos Capital

  

  The widespread and enduring failings in Credit Suisse Group AG’s risk management exposed by the Archegos scandal were laid out in all their gory detail. The Swiss bank has started addressing each weakness one by one. What’s needed is for these measures to coalesce into a total cultural overhaul. The implosion of Archegos Capital Management came fast in March. Credit ...

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• 1 August

  Is $695 AmEx Platinum card worth it?

  

  American Express revamped its Platinum card earlier this month, increasing the annual fee to $695 from $550 and adding various new perks. For those accustomed to spending $550 a year for a credit card, an increase of $145 doesn’t seem like much. Still, Platinum cardholders who continue to be wary of frequent travel or big trips due to Covid-19 and ...

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• 1 August

  No good comes from a shrinking population

  America’s population may be shrinking. That’s mostly because of Covid, but it’s also part of longer-term trends in fertility that show no signs of abating. These trends, which are worldwide, have already caused major economic dislocation and are likely to continue to do so. First, some data. From 1936 to 1956, the US fertility rate rose from 1.8 to 3.2. ...

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• 1 August

  Three cheers for Covid vaccine mandates

  President Joe Biden has announced a requirement that federal workers get vaccinated against Covid-19 or be frequently tested and face other restrictions. He’s right — and other governments and businesses should likewise require vaccination for their employees. With the delta variant racing through the unvaccinated population, mandates are more essential than ever. The delta variant is far more transmissible than ...

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• 1 August

  Walmart, Disney get tough on unvaccinated employees

  

  Bloomberg America’s corporate giants began ratcheting up the pressure on unvaccinated employees, aiming to turn the tide against a resurgent virus that threatens the economic recovery. Walmart, the largest private employer in the US, is requiring headquarters and regional staff to be vaccinated by October 4, instituting a policy that may set a standard for corporate America as the highly ...

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• 1 August

  British Airways in Covid fog as summer comes to Air France

  

  Bloomberg British Airways parent IAG SA is stuck on the starting blocks amid lingering coronavirus curbs as one of its biggest European competitors reaps the benefits of a late-summer travel rebound. London-based IAG, which also owns Spain’s Iberia and Aer Lingus of Ireland, provided no guidance in an earnings update and said it will offer only 45% of 2019 capacity ...

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• 1 August

  Bezos loses $13.5bn after Amazon disappointment

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc’s weaker-than-expected second-quarter results has sent its founder’s fortune tumbling. The net worth of Jeff Bezos fell $13.5 billion after the after-market results missed Wall Street’s expectations and foreshadowed an end to the retailer’s pandemic-fueled sales surge. The drop erased 80% of his wealth gains for the year. Amazon’s shares dropped 7.2% to $3,339.18 at 9:53 a.m. in ...

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• 1 August

  Amazon pares equivalent of Target’s cap in plunge

  Bloomberg The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Amazon.com Inc’s shares plummeted as much as 8.1% on July 30 after the retail giant reported sales below analyst estimates for the first time since 2018. That pared more than $130 billion from the company’s market capitalisation, a figure that, if it were for a single company, would be larger than ...

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• 1 August

  P&G beats estimates as consumers absorb price increases

  

  Bloomberg Procter & Gamble Co rose in early trading after reporting sales for the latest quarter that exceeded expectations despite a difficult comparison with last year’s stockpiling. The maker of Gillette razors and Downy fabric softener, which announced a leadership transition, said that organic sales, which strip out the impact of items like acquisitions and currency swings, grew 4% in ...

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• 1 August

  Biden’s Afghan evacuations begin with first flight to US

  

  Bloomberg The Biden administration’s first evacuation flight for Afghans who aided American and other coalition forces has arrived in the US, as the administration steps up efforts to relocate interpreters, other military assistants and their families ahead of a final troop withdrawal. The plane, carrying more than 200 people, landed at Fort Lee in Virginia, where passengers were to undergo ...

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