March, 2021

• 28 March

  Keep those pandemic savings for retirement

  

  With broad swaths of the US economy locked down for more than a year, those with good-paying jobs have had fewer opportunities to spend. The result is the highest saving rate on record and an estimated $1.7 trillion stockpile of pandemic savings. It’s widely assumed — and even encouraged — that consumers will spend a good portion of that money ...

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• 28 March

  The real oversight of social media

  

  As you watch yet another congressional hearing where social media CEOs awkwardly put on suits and ties to defend the indefensible to the uncomprehending, you couldn’t be blamed for feeling hopeless. Our long-standing policies for regulating traditional media have collapsed in the face of user-generated content, with networks of tens of millions of people creating it in real time at ...

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• 28 March

  The IRS should do more to nab wealthy tax dodgers

  President Joe Biden has big, ambitious plans that will continue to ring up unwieldy bills for the federal government. His administration will have to fund a significant — but still undetermined — portion of those bills by raising taxes on affluent Americans. And that won’t go well unless Biden’s team can get ahead of well-heeled taxpayers who are inclined to ...

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• 28 March

  Come on, Congress! take back your war powers

  “Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” The quip is from the late libertarian economists Milton and Rose Friedman, who would not have been surprised that the same is true of war resolutions. But now a bipartisan group of congressmen is trying to change that. The Authorisation for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, ...

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• 28 March

  Air France nears agreement for state rescue programe

  

  Bloomberg The French government is close to finalising a recapitalisation plan for Air France after addressing some antitrust concerns raised by the European Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. The multi-billion-euro package could be announced in coming days following final approval from Brussels and the board of parent Air France-KLM, said the people, who asked not to be ...

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• 28 March

  India targets to sell flag carrier Air India by June

  

  Bloomberg Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is close to inviting financial bids for flag carrier Air India Ltd., moving toward the sale of an airline that’s surviving on taxpayer money, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said. The financial offers are expected to come in within 64 days from the date of request, he said, addressing the Times Network India Economic ...

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• 28 March

  Boeing delivers its first 787 in months as inspections continue

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co. delivered its first 787 Dreamliner since October, handing over a jet to United Airlines Inc. while the planemaker continues to inspect others for small structural defects. United received a new 787-9 and will take another, a spokeswoman for the airline said. The first plane will be ferried from Charleston, South Carolina, to the carrier’s San Francisco hub ...

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• 28 March

  ThredUp jumps after $168 million IPO

  

  Bloomberg ThredUp Inc., the online marketplace for secondhand clothing, climbed 43% in its trading debut after a $168 million initial public offering (IPO). ThredUp, whose shares sold for $14 in the IPO, opened at $18.25 and closed at $20, giving the company a market value of $1.8 billion. While US -based ThredUp is a favourite of sustainability-minded younger shoppers, its focus ...

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• 28 March

  Grocers face $11bn in equal pay claims after Asda ruling

  

  Bloomberg The UK’s biggest retailers face a potential 8 billion-pound ($11 billion) legal fight after Asda Group Ltd. lost a top court ruling in an ongoing equal pay dispute. The UK Supreme Court ruled that the salaries earned by women who work in grocery stores could be compared to men who predominantly work in warehouses. The case will return to ...

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• 28 March

  Deaths in Myanmar pile up with army, protesters not backing down

  

  Bloomberg Dozens of Myanmar protesters died in demonstrations on a holiday once known as Resistance Day, as both the junta and those against its February coup showed no signs of backing down from weeks of conflict. At least 77 people in 36 townships were killed on Saturday during crackdowns by the military, according to rights group Assistance Association for Political ...

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