November, 2017

• 11 November

  Las Vegas massacre could cost insurers more than $1bn

  

  Bloomberg The deadliest mass shooting in modern US history is adding to soaring costs for insurance companies, which are already taking a beating this year from an onslaught of hurricanes, earthquakes and wildfires. The industry may have to shell out more than $1 billion for the Las Vegas massacre, insurance executives say. Acts of a solo gunman, who killed almost …

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• 11 November

  Pacific nations get framework to salvage trade deal US quit

  

  Bloomberg A blockbuster Pacific trade pact abandoned by US President Donald Trump has edged closer to becoming reality after days of tense talks in Vietnam. Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership had secured a framework agreement on how to salvage the deal. Canada, which had held out for a day on signing …

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• 11 November

  Xi, Trump offer dueling visions for Asia’s future

  Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump laid down starkly contrasting visions for Asia’s future, with Xi pledging a new era of globalization propelled by his nation’s economic might as Trump offe-red America’s largess only to those who play by his rules. In back-to-back speeches to business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, Xi …

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• 11 November

  Irish border throws unexpected hurdle into Brexit talks

  

  Bloomberg The future of the Irish border erupted unexpectedly into Brexit talks this week, as the European Union made new demands on Britain that risk distracting from efforts to reach a breakthrough by year-end. The EU circulated a document to diplomats that called for Northern Ireland to maintain the rules of the customs union and single market after Brexit. It …

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• 11 November

  Zimbabwe’s ousted VP flees after ‘threats’

  

  Bloomberg Former Zimbabwean Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa fled the southern African nation because of “incessant threats” against him and his family two days after he was fired by President Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa said in a statement that he never planned to harm Mugabe, who he’s been supporting for more than four decades, and pledged to work to establish a “new …

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• 11 November

  Slovenian president set to beat ex-comic in election runoff

  Bloomberg Slovenian President Borut Pahor has one obstacle on his path to re-election: a comedian-turned-mayor who vows to shake up the political establishment and replace the head of the central bank. Pahor, a former Social Democrat prime minister, is set to win Sunday’s runoff with more than 56 percent of vote, a poll by Episcenter conducted for the Delo newspaper …

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• 11 November

  Connection between tax cuts, growth is sketchy

  

  “Do we have any historical evidence that lowering tax rates, particularly among the richest strata, generates economic growth, as the Republicans always predict? Has this ever worked?” —A reader The answer is ‘no.’ As Congress tackles “tax reform,” we really don’t have conclusive historical evidence of the relationship between tax rates and economic growth. To be sure, studies abound, but …

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• 11 November

  Climate change costs a lot more than we recognise

  

  The latest US government report on climate change illustrates how expensive the phenomenon can be: It estimates that more frequent flooding, more violent hurricanes and more intense wildfires, among other things, have cost the country $1.1 trillion since 1980. What’s particularly striking, though, is how much the report and others like it are still missing. For two decades, researchers have …

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• 11 November

  Housing market in Britain is just vanishing

  

  Britain’s housing market is vanishing before our eyes. It’s not that prices are in free-fall — so far — but the number of transactions actually completing is dwindling fast. The slowdown in London has worsened sharply since June. Houses of all prices have been hit, the data from the Land Registry show. By September, the drought had hit hardest those …

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• 11 November

  US Commerce Secretary offshores his ethics

  When it comes to ethics, appearances matter — as Wilbur Ross is learning the hard way. ‘Appearance,’ Plato observed, ‘tyrannizes over truth.’ President Donald Trump’s administration should keep that in mind when attending to its latest conflict-of-interest scandal. According to news reports based on leaks from a Bermuda law firm, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did not disclose business ties with …

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