March, 2021

• 4 March

  Who really pays for Google, Facebook

  

  Google and Facebook make a lot of noise about how their main services are free to use. And it’s true, they are. But what they don’t highlight is their role in making almost everything else we consume online more expensive. Consider all the paywalls and paid services that are rolling out across the internet. News, films, music and even theatrical ...

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• 4 March

  Hong Kong needs more unicorns for SPAC race

  New York is the place where more startups — from EV battery makers to flying cars — have gone public by way of the boom in SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies. Once listed, SPACs are on the lookout to place their vast sums in promising enterprises (which then don’t have to go through the complex initial public offering process). ...

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• 4 March

  Big Oil is unwilling to bet on future of crude

  For a century, there’s been a key metric for judging the direction of the oil industry: The number of years it would take for wells to run dry. The reserves-to-production ratio or R/P — calculated as oil reserves, divided by annual production — has remained at eerily consistent levels since John D Rockefeller’s day. At major oil companies and in ...

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• 4 March

  Thai Airways revamp plan gets support from top shareholder

  

  Bloomberg Thailand’s finance ministry, the largest shareholder of Thai Airways International Pcl, signalled its support for a restructuring plan that includes raising fresh capital, a temporary freeze on repayment of borrowings and slashing its workforce by half to return the debt-ridden airline to profit. The key elements of the debt rehabilitation plan are “quite acceptable,” Pantip Sripimol, director general of ...

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• 4 March

  Boeing jabs Airbus on safety risk in A321XLR

  

  Bloomberg Boeing Co called out potential fire-safety issues with the fuel-tank design on Airbus SE’s coming A321XLR, a jet that’s crucial to the European planemaker’s future lineup. Airbus has positioned the rear-center fuel tank of the A321XLR under the floor of the passenger cabin — giving it the added range that makes the plane, due in 2023, such a threat ...

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• 4 March

  United boosts Max order by 25 aircraft, speeds up deliveries

  

  Bloomberg United Airlines Holdings Inc expanded its order of Boeing Co 737 Max jets by 25 planes less than a month after resuming flights with the aircraft, which is emerging from a record US grounding. In addition, deliveries of 40 of the single-aisle jetliners will be sped up to 2022 with another five accelerated to the following year, United said ...

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• 4 March

  Ting Hsin weighing $800m IPO of KFC’s Chinese rival

  Bloomberg Ting Hsin International Group, the Taiwanese food company behind the Master Kong brand, is weighing a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) of its restaurant business in mainland China, people with knowledge of the matter said. The firm has invited banks to pitch for a role on the listing, said the people, who asked not to be identified as ...

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• 4 March

  Nike’s executive saga exposes uneasy ties with resellers

  

  Bloomberg A senior Nike Inc executive’s abrupt departure has laid bare the sometimes-uncomfortable relationship between sneaker makers and the underground network of resellers who thrive off their brands. The sneakerhead community was buzzing over the resignation of Ann Hebert, Nike’s vice president and general manager of North America. The revelation came just days after a Bloomberg Businessweek report about her ...

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• 4 March

  Canada Goose, NBA announce clothing line

  Bloomberg Canada Goose Holdings, the company known for its Arctic-ready luxury parkas, announced a partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) that will showcase its foray into warmer-climate collections. Under the multiyear agreement, Toronto-based Canada Goose will produce capsule collections timed around the NBA’s annual midseason All-Star game. The manufacturer will collaborate with different designers, starting this year with LA-based ...

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• 4 March

  Asia rebuffing US sanctions on Myanmar, giving generals lifeline

  

  Bloomberg As the US looks to build a coalition to further punish Myanmar’s generals, it’s not having much success convincing governments in Asia to follow suit. The standing of army chief Min Aung Hlaing’s regime has slipped even further in the West after his envoy to the United Nations denounced the military takeover and Myanmar authorities killed at least 18 ...

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