May, 2019

• 25 May

  The logic behind Trump’s trade war with China

  

  A month ago, I declared that President Donald Trump’s trade war against China looked like it might be winding down. I was wrong. Instead of capitulating in exchange for some agricultural purchases and other minor concessions, Trump is doubling down. He’s raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent, and imposing new tariffs ...

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• 25 May

  India’s vanishing working capital

  

  Ask any small Indian firm how long it takes to get paid by larger companies, what kind of a runaround they’re given, what devilish excuses they encounter on the way, and you’ll wonder how they remain in business. The answer is simple: They raise cash by borrowing against the value of property. Such advances are tailor-made for the entrepreneur. A ...

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• 25 May

  Bank stress tests are getting less stressful

  Every year, the Federal Reserve conducts a round of stress tests purported to ensure that the banking system can weather a financial crisis. With the latest results coming next month, people are wondering: Will the exercise become less stressful amid President Trump’s deregulatory drive? Judging from the past several years’ results, it already has. The stress tests are far from ...

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• 25 May

  What Salvini and Le Pen get wrong about Europe

  Right-wing populists like Italy’s Matteo Salvini and France’s Marine Le Pen love to bash the EU as an elitist project that’s out of touch with the general public. Le Pen dreams of abolishing the European Commission, which she considers undemocratic, while Salvini says “bureaucrats and bankers” control Europe. This is all largely grandstanding; both of these leaders have had to ...

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• 25 May

  With another massive win, this is Modi’s India now

  

  After a long and arduous election, with months of campaigning and voting spread over seven phases, India’s 879 million voters have spoken. And, if not with one voice, then close to it. The Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been handed another historic mandate. Modi’s 2014 victory was already record-setting — the first time a single party ...

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• 25 May

  Germany flirts with financial nationalism

  

  The abandoned merger between Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG is forcing the two lenders to reconsider their future strategies. Commerzbank, in particular, might be a tempting target for rivals across the continent who want to build their presence in Germany. If there were a suitable offer, German government – which owns 15.5% of Commerzbank – should be prepared to ...

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• 25 May

  Uber Eats needs to deliver more than ever

  

  Uber Technologies Inc. is many things: a ride-hailing company, a gig economy beneficiary, a symbol of Silicon Valley’s venture capital largess (and excesses), to name just a few. But Uber has yet another less-discussed identity that, in these early days after its public market debut, should figure significantly in your perception of its prospects. Through its Uber Eats food delivery ...

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• 25 May

  Amazon’s new device aims to read human emotions

  

  Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognise human emotions. The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, and the Alexa voice software team. Designed to work with a smartphone ...

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• 25 May

  China’s Siri plunges as Trump casts wider net over tech firms

  

  Bloomberg Voice-recognition company Iflytek Co plunged following news it is on a list of Chinese technology firms that may face restrictions from the US. Iflytek, which says it controls over 70 percent of China’s speech technology market, slid as much as 8.2 percent in Shenzhen after people familiar with the matter said the US is considering curbs on the company, ...

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• 25 May

  Air taxis next frontier for Austria’s FACC 

  

  Bloomberg Austrian aerospace supplier FACC AG, spun off from a maker of skis and tennis rackets 30 years ago, is about to reinvent itself again. The manufacturer of composite wing flaps and rudders for Airbus SE and Boeing Co is branching out to build flying taxis for Chinese technology startup EHang Inc, a market Chief Executive Officer Robert Machtlinger says ...

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