December, 2018

• 29 December

  Donald Trump is a test of economy’s breaking point

  

  The president usually doesn’t do a lot to affect the US economy. When people say that President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush created jobs, it shouldn’t be taken literally — what really created the jobs was a confluence of vast and complex economic forces that the president affects only marginally. To substantially change the course of the economy, ...

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• 29 December

  Behind myth of China’s great tech grab

  

  For all the concern over China’s targeting of foreign intellectual property, how much forced transfer of leading-edge technology really happened? By the looks of the Chinese auto industry, hardly any. If there has been, then Beijing has precious little to show for it in a market of 25 million cars a year. Take the case of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings ...

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• 29 December

  Paris scooters can’t outrun yellow jackets

  The sight of “yellow vest” protesters torching cars and smashing storefronts on some of the poshest avenues in Paris this month was a double-blow for the city’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo. First, it was a clear hit to the image of Paris as a global magnet for talent, investment and technology. Hidalgo has spent much of the last two years talking ...

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• 29 December

  Cargo ships can go green with new technologies

  Shipping is the lifeblood of global commerce — more than 80 percent of world trade goes by water. But the industry is also an environmental menace, producing as much carbon dioxide annually as Germany. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has helpfully called for ships to produce about 85 percent less sulfur by the end of next year, and to halve ...

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• 29 December

  Earth has seen CO2 spike before. It didn’t end well

  

  Asteroid impacts used to be science popularisers’ favorite existential threat, but space rocks have been displaced by atmospheric carbon. This is not just fashion but the result of a new reading of our planet’s past. In the 1990s, scientists thought asteroid impacts had triggered five mass extinctions, including the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Now, they’ve come ...

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• 29 December

  Hong Kong’s insurance party keeps rocking

  

  The biggest acquisition of a Hong Kong company this year shows that the lure of insurance as a means to access the vast pool of mainland Chinese savings remains undimmed. Last week a company controlled by one of the city’s oldest business families beat out Canada’s Sun Life Financial Inc. to buy FTLife Insurance Co., a minnow in an insurance ...

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• 29 December

  Digital ad market needs an antitrust review

  

  After several high-profile investigations into US-based tech companies that resulted in large fines but little meaningful change in the firms’ practices, the European Union’s antitrust authorities are being asked to open a wide-ranging inquiry into the digital advertising market. It’s long overdue. The request comes from Brave Software Inc., the company founded by Brendan Eich, one of the original creators ...

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• 29 December

  Toyota wants to put robots in every home

  

  Bloomberg Toyota Motor Corp. has sold enough cars to put one outside every Japanese home. Now it wants to put robots inside. Well-known for its automated assembly lines, Toyota sees a not-so-far-off future in which robots transcend the factory and become commonplace in homes, helping with chores — and even offering companionship — in an aging society where a quarter ...

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• 29 December

  Porsche Taycan is 2019’s most-anticipated launch

  

  Bloomberg The year 2018 was very good for the car industry. According to Cox Automotive, US auto sales are expected to total 17.2 million units in this year, which is more than last year and the fourth year in a row to beat 17 million, finishing above the firm’s forecasts. For starters, there’s the convertible version of the Bentley Continental ...

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• 29 December

  Sony boosts 3D camera output over demand

  

  Bloomberg Sony Corp., the biggest maker of camera chips used in smartphones, is boosting production of next-generation 3D sensors after getting interest from customers including Apple Inc. The chips will power front- and rear-facing 3D cameras of models from several smartphone makers in 2019, with Sony kicking off mass production in late summer to meet demand, according to Satoshi Yoshihara, ...

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