January, 2019

• 27 January

  Maduro drops demand ‘US diplomats leave Venezuela’

  

  Bloomberg Venezuela abandoned its decision to sever diplomatic ties with the US, stating that each country agreed to keep a so-called interest section open in their respective capitals. The announcement that the missions would remain open was a retreat after days of bellicose rhetoric prompted by the US decision to recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the nation’s rightful ...

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• 27 January

  Zimbabwe sheds fear amid desperation

  

  Bloomberg In four decades of independence, Zimbabwe’s rulers have been able to deploy the security forces to crush protests even as the southern African nation sank deeper into economic crisis. Judging from the latest bout of unrest, that may no longer be true. Crowds showed little fear as they poured onto the streets of the capital, Harare, and other major ...

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• 27 January

  Ivory Coast’s president to likely seek third term

  Bloomberg Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara declined to rule out running in next year’s presidential election amid speculation he will seek a third term, a move that the opposition says would be unconstitutional. “I want to organize the RHDP during the first quarter of this year so that we can pick our candidate next year,” Ouattara told ministers and supporters ...

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• 27 January

  EU tax bill faces no-deal Brexit conundrum

  

  Bloomberg A no-deal Brexit could create yet another headache for the European Union as it prepares to hand dozens of UK-based companies a tax bill that is expected to top $1.5 billion. With just over two months left until Britain’s scheduled departure date of March 29, time is running out for the European Commission to order the UK to recoup ...

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• 27 January

  Uber open to outside investors for self-driving unit, says CEO

  

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said it was “possible” the ride-hailing giant would look for outside investors for its self-driving car unit, but isn’t currently searching for backers. The company’s pouring large, undisclosed sums of money into its Advanced Technologies Group, which includes the company’s self-driving car research as well as plans to build VTOL (vertical ...

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• 27 January

  Sweden’s jobless rate up for a second month

  Bloomberg Swedish unemployment rose for a second month in December as job seekers flocked to the labour market at the tail-end of a long economic expansion. The seasonally-adjusted rate rose to 6.4 percent, up from a revised 6.2 percent in November, Statistics Sweden said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a rate of 6.2 percent in December. Swedish unemployment remains ...

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• 27 January

  Strong demand, tight job market prompt US firms to raise prices

  

  Bloomberg Strong US demand and a tight job market have given companies a chance to raise prices coming into this year, and they’re testing the waters gingerly. From consumer goods and airlines to railroads, businesses made attempts to recover higher costs including rising pay for workers, or simply lifted prices to try to boost profit margins amid healthy sales, according ...

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• 27 January

  Can Pentagon build a bridge to the tech community?

  

  As the age of artificial intelligence transforms warfare, the Pentagon faces a delicate problem: How does it convince employees of high-tech companies based in the US that Americans are still the “good guys,” so that they’ll lend their talents to US national-security projects? The challenge is huge, given that Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and other tech giants see themselves as ...

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• 27 January

  Brexit makes US, Europe less safe

  

  London this week has been anxious under chalky skies with prolonged drizzle, apt conditions for a nation grappling with an unruly process to (probably) depart the European Union. The debate here is largely over how Brexit will affect the political and economic relations between the UK and Europe. Largely ignored, by both Brits and Americans, is how Brexit is a ...

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• 27 January

  Bezos vs Ambani is the bout that had to happen

  The battle for the Indian consumer was never going to be an all-American affair. Walmart Inc.’s splashy acquisition last year of Flipkart Online Services Pvt., the homegrown e-tailer giving Amazon.com Inc. a solid run for its money, might have given the impression of a two-horse race. But as I argued (here and here), billionaire Mukesh Ambani wasn’t going to watch ...

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