January, 2020

• 1 January

  The next China? Vietnam looks good only on paper

  A young labour force, a real estate boom, a politically stable Communist-led country that can reap riches through exports and a friendly relationship with the US — many have compared Vietnam to what China was more than two decades ago. Add one more trait to this mix as we enter the 2020s: profitless prosperity. With Vietnam quickly moving up the ...

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• 1 January

  The lopsided nature of American prosperity

  

  It was the year of inequality. The economic debate took a dramatic turn in 2019. To be sure, much attention was paid to the familiar standbys: jobs, interest rates, inflation and trade. But superseding these well-worn subjects was a growing fixation on the lopsided nature of American prosperity. It’s become fashionable to denounce billionaires. Bernie Sanders thinks they should be ...

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• 1 January

  Will Standard Life be a winner or a zombie?

  

  It’s showtime for Keith Skeoch. Almost three years since he and Martin Gilbert agreed to create Standard Life Aberdeen Plc, he’s now flying solo as chief executive officer of the UK’s biggest standalone asset manager. For the fund behemoth to be valued by investors and analysts at more than the sum of its parts, it needs to either consistently outperform ...

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• 1 January

  Shale’s amazing, world-changing, lousy decade

  

  In between dealing with margin calls, Aubrey McClendon spent some of 2009 liquidating his famously well-stocked cellar in the non-fun way. In vino veritas, as it turns out: McClendon’s vintage version of the financial crisis, after his meteoric rise at the helm of fracking pioneer Chesapeake Energy Corp., embodied the wild successes, excesses and lasting hangover of the shale boom. ...

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• 1 January

  Lexus confronts midlife crisis

  

  Big red bows and the “December to Remember” tagline of year-end Lexus ads have become as much a part of the holiday season as lawn ornaments and tacky sweaters. But the upscale brand has less to celebrate this year in the US, with sales flat and few new vehicles to showcase. Thirty years after its debut shocked established German automakers, ...

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• 1 January

  Netflix’s top draws: ‘Murder Mystery,’ ‘Stranger Things’

  

  Bloomberg Netflix Inc, touting the success of its original programming, said the most popular releases on its streaming service this year were things it produced: the comedy movie “Murder Mystery” and the third season of its 1980s sci-fi show “Stranger Things.” The company disclosed lists of its top 10 programmes in 33 countries, offering the most expansive report to date ...

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• 1 January

  NIO soars as loss shrinks, but cash concerns linger

  

  Bloomberg NIO Inc surged in US trading after the Chinese electric-car maker paired better-than-expected quarterly results with a warning that it’s still running low on cash. NIO’s adjusted net loss was $342.9 million for the quarter ended in September, a smaller deficit than the prior three months and what analysts were estimating. While the Shanghai-based company doesn’t have enough money ...

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• 1 January

  Tencent buys 10% stake in Universal

  Bloomberg A consortium led by China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd agreed to buy 10% of the world’s biggest music company, Universal Music Group, from Vivendi SA, after months of talks. The deal values Universal Music at 30 billion euros ($33.6 billion) and allows Tencent and its partners to increase the stake to as much as 20% for the same price before ...

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• 1 January

  Uber, Postmates sue California to block gig-worker law

  

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc and Postmates Inc sued the state of California, alleging that a labour rights law set to go into effect this week is unconstitutional. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court is a preemptive strike against the state’s landmark measure designed to ensure gig workers receive employment protections. Uber and Postmates argue the legislative process around ...

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• 1 January

  Emirates ushered in New Year with positive outlook

  

  Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, concluded 2019 with a successful string of product, network, and customer experience highlights. The airline ushered in 2020 with a continued focus on strengthening its business across operational, commercial and customer experience metrics, and excitement for Expo2020 – the world’s greatest show – which will open its doors to global ...

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