July, 2020

• 6 July

  And China extends its reign of random fear

  

  The French revolutionaries’ instrument for administering the 1793-1794 Reign of Terror was the Committee of Public Safety. Today, China’s totalitarians, displaying either ignorance of this unsavory history, or arrogance in flaunting their emulation of it, call their new instrument for suffocating Hong Kong the Commission for Safeguarding National Security. Yet again, actual tyranny is imposed in the supposed service of ...

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• 6 July

  Is Europe in better shape than US?

  

  After the great recession, the American economy rebounded faster and stronger than the euro zone, raising doubts over the effectiveness of the “European social model.” As Europe emerges from the first wave of the Covid-19 epidemic in better shape than the US, its combination of welfare states and strong public health systems suddenly seems appealing again. The US is still ...

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• 6 July

  Job numbers are a good sign; not a victory flag

  Although the better-than-expected US employment numbers that came out last week give reason for optimism, it is far too early to declare victory over the threat of further economic damage. Yes, the jobs report and other data released last week illustrated the kind of impressive across-the-board recovery that the economy is capable of. But the durability of this much-needed recovery ...

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• 6 July

  NBA’s reopening is a warning sign for US

  The NBA may be reflecting a still-hidden trend in the broader US economy: People may not actually be so keen to return to work. The NBA is planning to resume a fragment of its regular season, and then the playoffs, in a custom-tailored “bubble” in Orlando, Florida, on July 30. The games will be played only among the top teams in ...

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• 6 July

  Federer-backed shoe brand booms amid virus lockdowns

  

  Bloomberg For Swiss running shoemaker On AG, whose proprietary cushioning technology has attracted Roger Federer as an investor, the global coronavirus lockdowns had positive side effects. Online sales more than tripled in the three months through May as consumers itching for a good workout but wary of gyms turned to outdoor running, according to Chief Executive Officer David Allemann. Demand ...

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• 6 July

  Investors seek to block Virgin Australia’s sale

  

  Bloomberg Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd bondholders asked the country’s deals regulator to let them pitch a plan to rescue the airline in an effort to derail a sale to Bain Capital LP. Singapore-based Broad Peak Investment Advisers Pte and other bondholders told the Takeovers Panel that some elements of the Deloitte-run auction of the airline were “unacceptable” and effectively barred ...

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• 6 July

  Airbus CEO urges better EU coordination over air travel

  

  Bloomberg Airbus SE Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury called on the European Union to coordinate the return of international air traffic, saying chaotic decision-making on flight bans by member countries at the start of the pandemic revealed weaknesses in the way the region works. “We need one decision making center and we don’t have one. We see Europe’s weaknesses in ...

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• 6 July

  JetBlue sees progress in minimising layoffs

  Bloomberg JetBlue Airways Corp expects to avoid involuntary job cuts among at least some employee groups because enough workers have accepted voluntary leave or early-out programs to match the carrier’s scaled-down operations. More than enough volunteers have come forward in the customer support department, the airline said in a memo to workers seen by Bloomberg News. JetBlue also confirmed an ...

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• 6 July

  Boohoo plunges after reports of labour abuses at suppliers

  

  Bloomberg Boohoo Group Plc shares plunged after a report in the Sunday Times about poor working conditions at a factory the newspaper described as a supplier of the UK online fashion retailer. Boohoo said it will review its supply chain after the report, which focused on a garment workshop in Leicester, England, the site of a recent flareup in coronavirus ...

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• 6 July

  Harrods adapts to retail’s new normal

  Bloomberg Harrods opened its first outlet store only days after announcing hundreds of job cuts — moves that the London luxury emporium’s managing director said are necessary to adapt to the realities of a post-lockdown retail landscape. “I don’t think people understand how painful the last 90 days has been,” Michael Ward said in an interview while walking through the ...

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