June, 2018

• 9 June

  Italy needs the euro exit plan. So do other nations

  While the turmoil in Italy has died down, at least for now, the issue that set it off is sure to provoke more tumult ahead. The populist coalition that won the last election had proposed to make Paolo Savona, an economist who has said Italy should have a “Plan B” to exit the euro, finance minister. Sergio Mattarella, the country’s ...

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• 9 June

  Air India debacle shows Modi doesn’t get business

  

  When Narendra Modi took office as India’s prime minister just over four years ago, a top priority for the economic reformers who had supported his candidacy was the privatization of India’s incredibly inefficient public sector. Among their biggest targets was the state-run airline, Air India — a clunky, loss-making behemoth that has long been rendered irrelevant by buzzy domestic competitors. ...

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• 9 June

  ‘Accor should give more back to shareholders’

  

  Imagine you run a hotel group that’s just sold a controlling stake in its property portfolio so it can pursue a fashionable “asset-light” strategy. What’s the most logical way to deploy some of the 4.6 billion euros ($5.4 billion) of capital released by that transaction to maximize investor returns? Maybe not buying a chunky stake in a strike-prone, heavily indebted, ...

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• 9 June

  The end of the great Australian bank boom

  

  It doesn’t feel all that long ago that Australian banks were the envy of the world. In March 2009, when stress-testing of US financial institutions drove the final spasm of the previous year’s credit crisis, you could have bought all the shares in Citigroup Inc., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Barclays Plc with their $8.4 trillion of gross ...

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• 9 June

  Uber expands electric-bicycle rentals with European debut

  

  Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. announced it would roll out its on-demand electric-bicycle service to Europe, as it seeks to expand its international offerings to include more environmentally-friendly forms of transportation. Uber said it aims to bring its Jump bike rental service to Berlin before the end of this summer, with other European cities to follow soon after. “When you get ...

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• 9 June

  Larry Page’s Kitty Hawk unveils single-seater flying vehicle

  

  Bloomberg Kitty Hawk, the Mountain View, Calif.-based flying car company founded and backed by Larry Page, is offering a new glimpse of one its upcoming aircraft: a single-person recreational vehicle. The Kitty Hawk Flyer sports 10 battery-powered propellors and two control sticks, and looks like a human-sized drone, according to photos and videos of the final design posted to the ...

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• 9 June

  Intel-backed startup wants to become the Uber of skies

  

  Bloomberg Forget autonomous cars — your next taxi might whiz you across town through the air. Volocopter GmbH, a German startup backed by Intel Corp. and Daimler AG, has built a drone-like electric helicopter to ferry travelers across city skies. The company expects to offer its first commercial trips in the next three to five years, after completing test flights ...

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• 9 June

  Daimler adds electric truck models in race against Tesla, VW

  

  Bloomberg Daimler AG’s truck unit unveiled two battery-powered models for the US market, bolstering its bid to fend off Tesla Inc., Volvo AB and Volkswagen AG in the race to electrify big rigs. The German manufacturer’s Freightliner brand revealed the eCascadia, a highway hauler that can go as far as 400 kilometres between charges. The smaller eM2, with a range ...

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• 9 June

  ‘Titans’ out as banks build new lobby group

  

  Bloomberg An effort by the nation’s largest banks to boost their lobbying clout in Washington is leaving three industry titans on the sidelines: Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse Group AG. Though the three firms were initially slated to be included in a newly merged trade association, they were blocked after some executives argued that adding more ...

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• 9 June

  Fed poised to increase interest rates regardless of emerging-market woes

  

  Bloomberg Emerging markets struggling with higher US interest rates are likely to get little sympathy from the Federal Reserve. Currencies of such nations have been hammered in a spreading selloff amid worries that their economies won’t cope with higher US borrowing costs. That’s prompted central bankers in India and Indonesia to raise interest rates and urge Fed caution. There are ...

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