January, 2017

• 5 January

  War of operating systems moves into everything else

  

    The operating system war has started again. The once white-hot fights over the dominant operating software for PCs and smartphones are settled, of course. Microsoft won PCs. In smartphones, Android won on volume and Apple Inc. won on profits. Now that computing is spreading into everything from jet engines to T-shirts, the old and new tech combatants are vying …

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• 5 January

  What the US lost in Syria

  

    The duration of the latest Syrian cease-fire may matter less than its genesis. Russia, Turkey and Iran brokered the agreement without U.S. involvement — a worrying sign of the waning regional influence of the world’s only superpower. Whether this decline is temporary or permanent remains to be seen. What is abundantly clear is that, having decided not to intervene …

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• 5 January

  Cyprus unity deal to bring stability in Eastern Mediterranean

    Negotiations between Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader, and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Mustafa Akinci, in November failed to find any solution for decades-old division of Cyprus. The talks, held in Switzerland, were supposed to produce a map of the internal boundaries of a future federation on Cyprus and pave the way for broader talks. But the two-day session …

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• 5 January

  What the strong Obama jobs recovery tells us

  

    On January 6, the Labor Department will release the final monthly employment report of what has been an historic eight-year run of jobs growth during the Barack Obama administration. This period confirmed some of our beliefs about the economy but also exposed the limitations of our understanding of a structurally changing employment situation. Here are three main takeaways from …

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• 5 January

  Where world’s highest-paid expats live

  

    Expats living in the home of UBS Group AG, drug maker Novartis AG and commodity trader Glencore Plc earn an average salary of $188,275 a year. That’s the highest in the world and almost twice the global average, according to data published by HSBC Holdings Plc. Switzerland also tops the bank’s expat career ranking for a second year. “Expats …

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• 5 January

  Nigeria could teach the West a few things

  

    A trip is often defined by its surprises, so here are my biggest revelations from six days in Lagos, Nigeria. Most of all, I found Lagos to be much safer than advertised. It is frequently described as one of the most dangerous cities on earth. Many people told me I was crazy to go there, and some Nigerian expats …

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• 5 January

  Egypt surges; Dubai, Qatar outperform Gulf

  

    Reuters Egypt’s stock market closed the week at a record high on Thursday as foreign funds continued to buy, while Gulf markets inched up on the back of firmer crude oil and global bourses. Cairo’s index closed 1.7 percent higher at 12,824 points in the heaviest traded volume since mid-November. “Since the float of the currency on Nov. 3 …

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• 5 January

  Dollar rally falters as treasuries gain with gold

  

    Bloomberg The dollar faced further headwinds as Chinese efforts to stem capital outflows and a rethinking of Federal Reserve intentions conspired to halt the strongest rally in the currency in more than a decade. Gold rose with Treasuries. The greenback weakened a second day after reaching a 14-year high, as a record of Fed deliberations signaled central bankers remain …

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• 5 January

  Air travellers to shell out more money this year

  

    Bloomberg After a comfortable two-year spell of cheap fuel and no major crises to dampen travel demand, US airlines are in for what looks to be a more turbulent 2017. Buckle up. Seven consecutive quarters of declining jet fuel expenses have come to an end as carriers are likely to report higher bills for the fourth quarter of 2016, …

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• 5 January

  Xiaomi’s India sales pass $1bn as Chinese brands hold sway

  

    Bloomberg Xiaomi Corp. surpassed $1 billion in annual India revenue two years after selling its first smartphone in the country, as Chinese names begin to dominate the world’s fastest-growing major market at the expense of local players. Xiaomi said it grew shipments by almost 150% in 2016, selling two million smartphones in the third quarter alone. The company had …

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