March, 2019

• 16 March

  If Cathay goes budget, the trend is clear

  

  There’s always been something grimly appropriate about the world’s most unequal rich society being home to one of its least affordable aviation sectors. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. has historically been so resistant to the idea of budget airlines that the city’s dominant carrier once fought (and won) a three-year regulatory battle to stop Qantas Airways Ltd. from setting ...

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• 16 March

  Sometimes, a Bentley just can’t compare to a Skoda

  Tesla drivers are fond of the electric vehicle’s giant touchscreen display, but for more conservative buyers of luxury cars such digital systems might seem a tad unrefined. Thankfully, Britain’s Bentley has solved this very first-world problem on its new Continental GT model by offering a revolving panel that will spin around to show analogue gauges instead of the screen, when ...

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• 16 March

  Why Japan’s massive stimulus isn’t enough

  The Bank of Japan (BOJ) risks being stranded. The pioneer of zero interest rates and quantitative easing has the most accommodative monetary policy of any major central bank. Rather than being positioned comfortably during this global slowdown, the Bank of Japan must be feeling pretty anxious. There’s little advantage to being the first mover. Others learn your tricks. They may start ...

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• 16 March

  Boeing should thank China for grounding 737 Max fleet

  

  China didn’t waste any time reacting to the tragic crash of a Boeing Co. 737 Max operated by Ethiopian Airlines Group on Sunday. Less than 24 hours after the accident, it became the first country to ground the plane. In the hours and days that followed, Ethiopia, Europe and — finally, on March 13 — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ...

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• 16 March

  SingTel’s giveaway deserves a reward

  

  Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. should ask for a tax refund. After all, here’s a telco that got the chance to maintain its stake in an overseas business on the cusp of something new at a steep discount to the market price. And what did it do? SingTel renounced a part of those rights in favour of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund for ...

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• 16 March

  EBay is the un-Amazon, for better and worse

  

  How can a company be both the second-place player in its fast-growing industry – and largely excluded from the conversation about the future of said industry? That’s the weird position occupied by EBay Inc. The company grabs a larger share of the US e-commerce market than Walmart Inc., Apple Inc., and every other retailer besides Amazon.com Inc. The $95 billion ...

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• 16 March

  Qualcomm wins first US trial in global dispute with Apple

  

  Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc. won the first US jury trial in its global dispute with Apple Inc. over how much the iPhone maker should pay for using the chipmaker’s patented technology. A federal jury in San Diego awarded Qualcomm about $31.6 million in damages on its patent infringement claims. Qualcomm jumped as much as 3.5 percent before finishing up 2.2 percent ...

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• 16 March

  VW sued by SEC for misleading investors on diesel cheating

  

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG was sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over claims it failed to disclose to investors that its diesel vehicles violated emission standards, the latest twist in a software cheating scandal that has already cost the company more than $30 billion. The German automaker sold billions of dollars of corporate bonds and asset-backed securities in the ...

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• 16 March

  Uber in advanced talks for $1bn self-driving stake sale

  

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. is in advanced discussions to sell a $1 billion stake in its costly self-driving car unit to a consortium of investors led by SoftBank Group Corp., people familiar with the plans said. The deal would value the autonomous-vehicle business at $5 billion to $10 billion, and Uber would retain a majority stake, said the people, who ...

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• 16 March

  British nightmare for utilities goes from bad to worse

  

  Bloomberg With or without Brexit, Britain is surely the toughest market for European utilities to make money in right now. After years and years of surging bills, disgruntled homeowners are abandoning the nation’s biggest energy suppliers at an alarming rate. In strikingly somber tones, utilities from Innogy SE to Centrica Plc have dished out bearish outlooks detailing their woes in ...

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