August, 2019

• 24 August

  The unlikely crusade to save capitalism from itself

  

  Evolve or die — wrote hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio in a manifesto published in April titled “Why and How Capitalism Needs to be Reformed.” With each passing month, more business executives have been joining this unlikely crusade to save capitalism from itself. The loudest reform call yet from inside the system came this week from the Business Roundtable, which represents ...

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• 24 August

  Germany is preparing to save itself

  

  For nearly a decade Germany has faced calls from across the euro zone to loosen its fiscal belt. Now that Berlin has finally hinted it might spend more to combat the risk of recession, the rest of Europe has some cause to celebrate. But any jubilation should be tempered. Finance minister Olaf Scholz has said that Germany can spend up ...

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• 24 August

  Sotheby’s, the billionaire and the reserve price

  Sotheby’s is under fire for accepting a $2.7 billion takeover bid from billionaire art lover Patrick Drahi. The handling of the sale reflects poorly on the board, even if it led to a generous offer relative to where the stock was trading. The venerable auctioneer received a takeover approach from a group of unidentified private equity investors in December. Others, ...

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• 24 August

  Trump’s tax cut could work for Democrats, too

  Donald Trump was unable to say whether he supported the single most viable idea for forestalling a recession: a payroll tax cut. It’s not a hard question — and by promising to make the cut temporary, he could increase the chances of it actually happening. The worsening US economic outlook has sparked a blame game in Washington. Trump blames the ...

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• 24 August

  US budget deficit hitting $1 trillion is actually fine

  

  The US budget deficit will hit $1 trillion in 2020, the Congressional Budget Office announced — a big round number that has both Democrats and Republicans worried that the US is on the road to fiscal ruin. They shouldn’t be. In the current global environment, trillion-dollar deficits may actually decrease the odds of a major economic crisis. In fact, one ...

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• 24 August

  HSBC’s biggest bid in years could get bigger

  

  Since getting burned in the financial crisis, HSBC Holdings Plc has been in sell rather than buy mode. But now that it’s out shopping, the bank is looking to splurge. HSBC is eyeing the Asian assets of struggling British insurer Aviva Plc, which could be worth between $3 billion and $4 billion, Bloomberg reporters Dinesh Nair, Manuel Baigorri and Stefania ...

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• 24 August

  Firms might be smarter with workers in boardroom

  

  When legendary physicist Richard Feynman was called in to help solve the mystery of the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986, he didn’t use advanced math. Instead, according to his own account of the incident, he went and talked to the engineers. The workers who actually built the space shuttle, he found, had a good idea of which parts were ...

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• 24 August

  Apple readies new iPhones, iPads and larger MacBook Pro

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc is readying a clutch of new hardware for the coming weeks and months, including “Pro” iPhones, upgrades to iPads and its largest laptop in years. The Cupertino, California-based technology giant is planning to announce three new iPhones at an event next month, according to people familiar with the situation. The handsets will likely go on sale in ...

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• 24 August

  Stanford grads near $1bn value for driverless trucks

  

  Bloomberg Sequoia-backed PlusAI Inc is close to raising about $200 million in new funds at a valuation of more than $1 billion to bankroll its development in autonomous trucks, according to people familiar with the matter. The self-driving truck startup is working with advisers on the funding round with plans to set up a joint venture with one of the ...

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• 24 August

  Javelin-ferrying autonomous bots to roam at Tokyo Olympics

  

  Bloomberg When athletes and organisers descend on Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games, they’ll be ferried around in autonomous cars, while torch relay runners will be accompanied by AI-equipped cars. Robots will ferry javelins and hammers. All told, Toyota Motor Corp will provide 3,700 vehicles, including dozens of self-driving cars, about 500 fuel-cell vehicles and 850 battery-electric cars to the ...

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