March, 2021

• 24 March

  It’s 2021. Why is buying clothes online still so hard?

  If the lockdowns of the past year introduced millions of people to the ease of online shopping, they also underlined some e-commerce pain points: clothes that don’t fit, returns that take ages to process, groceries that arrive nearly expired and tiresome customer service. If online retailers want to retain customers when physical stores reopen, these are problems they’ll need to ...

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• 24 March

  The business case for vaccine passports

  Once people have been vaccinated against Covid-19, they’re safer to dine out, fly on airplanes, attend concerts and movies, work out at the gym, go to the office, cross borders and otherwise move about — as long as they wear masks around other people indoors, avoid large groups and keep their distance. How can they demonstrate that they have this ...

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• 24 March

  Deliveroo kicks off $2.5b IPO, UK’s largest in 2021

  

  Bloomberg Food-delivery startup Deliveroo Holdings Plc started taking investor orders in a share sale of as much as 1.77 billion pounds ($2.45 billion), marking the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the UK since September. Deliveroo is selling shares at 3.90 pounds to 4.60 pounds apiece, according to a statement, valuing the company at 7.6 billion pounds to 8.8 billion ...

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• 24 March

  EU suggests global airline emissions plan ineffective

  

  Bloomberg A European Union (EU) report found that an aviation industry agreement to tackle global carbon-dioxide emissions may not have a materially positive impact on the environment. The findings were made in September by the Directorate-General for Climate Action and published by non-profit Transport & Environment, which obtained the report. It said the Corsia system is less effective than existing ...

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• 24 March

  Korea travel app eyes dual IPO listing at $4 billion-plus value

  

  Bloomberg South Korea’s largest travel app Yanolja Co. is in talks with banks to go public through a dual listing in Seoul and overseas, people with knowledge of the matter said, joining a growing cohort of startups seeking higher valuations abroad. The company is aiming for a value of more than $4 billion, one of the people said, confirming previous ...

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• 24 March

  British Airways weighs sale of its headquarters

  Bloomberg British Airways is considering putting its sprawling headquarters in London up for sale as the flagship UK carrier plans for a so-called hybrid approach to working, according to an internal email. The airline has hired a specialist property company to gauge if a sale of the building, known as Waterside, would be beneficial, Stuart Kennedy, BA’s director of people, ...

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• 24 March

  India court lifts freeze on Future Retail

  

  Bloomberg An Indian court has halted implementation of a ruling that froze assets of Future Retail Ltd. and its founders on a petition by Amazon.com Inc. The American giant wants to block the sale of the retailer to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. The Delhi High Court stayed the March 18 verdict that had ordered Future Retail to ask regulators ...

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• 24 March

  Nestle rolls out touchless coffee machines, new flavours

  

  Bloomberg Nestle SA is preparing for post-pandemic coffee growth as the world’s largest food company rolls out touchless machines for the office and bets new flavors will win over more consumers making coffee at home. The maker of Nespresso and Nescafe is planning a wider introduction of machines that can be controlled via smartphone, catering to concern about viral transmission, ...

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• 24 March

  China lashes out at US allies in bid to thwart Biden strategy

  

  Bloomberg This week Joe Biden made good on his campaign promise to work more with allies to pressure China, coordinating with US partners to impose sanctions over alleged human-rights abuses in Xinjiang. Beijing’s response: Hit back at the allies as hard as possible. China wasted no time immediately retaliating with reciprocal sanctions against European Union officials while summoning the bloc’s ...

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• 24 March

  US rips China ‘maritime militia,’ backs Philippines

  

  Bloomberg The US expressed concerns over the presence of more than 200 Chinese fishing vessels near a disputed South China Sea reef, saying Beijing uses “maritime militia to intimidate, provoke and threaten other nations.” Chinese boats “have been mooring in this area for many months in ever increasing numbers, regardless of the weather,” the US embassy in the Philippines said ...

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