February, 2018

• 25 February

  Airbnb adds hotels, loyalty programme to challenge booking

  

  Bloomberg Airbnb Inc. is largely known for cheap accommodations and the occasional awkwardness that comes with staying in someone else’s home. Now the company wants to broaden its appeal by incorporating what has long been seen as the enemy: hotels. At a company event, Brian Chesky, Airbnb’s co-founder and chief executive officer, outlined a roadmap designed to make his service ...

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• 25 February

  Manafort secretly paid ex-EU leaders to pitch Ukraine: US

  

  Bloomberg They were informally called the “Hapsburg group,” a misspelled reference to the monarchy that ruled parts of central Europe through World War I. Under that umbrella, former European heads of state were secretly paid more than 2 million euros ($2.4 million) by Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, to aid lobbying for Ukraine, according to a superseding indictment ...

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• 25 February

  Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre Church shut to protest proposed Israel policies

  

  Bloomberg The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Christianity’s holiest site, was closed to visitors on Sunday in an unprecedented move to protest proposed Israeli tax and land policies governing church-owned property. The heads of the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Armenian Apostolic churches in the city released a letter accusing Israel of a “systematic and offensive campaign” against ...

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• 25 February

  China paves way for Xi to stay longer with repeal of term limits

  

  Bloomberg China’s Communist Party moved to repeal presidential term limits enshrined in the constitution, the clearest sign yet that Xi Jinping intends to stay on as leader past his second term. The party’s decision-making Central Committee proposed removing language from the document that says the head of state “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms,” the official Xinhua News ...

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• 25 February

  Renzi urges Italian politicians to combat violence

  

  Bloomberg Italy’s ex-premier Matteo Renzi urged politicians to combat all forms of violence ahead of the March 4 elections, after street battles between far-left and far-right activists in the past few days. “I think it is very important for everyone — not just for a single party — to be here, to give a message against violence, against not just ...

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• 25 February

  Sri Lankan president rejigs cabinet after local poll defeat

  Bloomberg President Maithripala Sirisena reshuffled the cabinet in Sri Lanka for the second time since forming a unity government in 2015 after its two main coalition partners were defeated in local government elections. Sirisena announced changes to six cabinet ministers, three state ministers and one deputy minister on Sunday, according to a statement from the president’s office. Prime Minister Ranil ...

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• 25 February

  The political consequences of slower economic growth

  

  The role of economic growth in advanced democracies is not mainly the accumulation of more material goods. By any historical norm, even today’s poor are staggeringly wealthy. Economic growth plays a more subtle role. It gives people a sense that they are getting ahead and are in control of their lives. It serves as the social glue that holds us ...

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• 25 February

  Shame on you crazy diamond bankers. PNB was no lone wolf

  

  It’s disingenuous to think that India’s biggest banking fraud was just one bent officer in a bumbling state-run lender enriching an uncle-nephew pair of greedy diamond merchants. That’s the spin Punjab National Bank (PNB) is trying to put on the $1.8 billion scam that went on for seven years. According to the lender’s version, PNB’s former employee Gokulnath Shetty provided billionaire ...

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• 25 February

  A Latvian challenge for ECB

  

  A scandal in Latvia is raising questions about the European Central Bank’s ability to do its job. The details remain murky, but the ECB should move swiftly to reassure investors that its high standards will be upheld throughout the euro zone. A report by the US Treasury has alleged widespread money laundering at ABLV Bank AS, one of Latvia’s largest ...

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• 25 February

  India’s Modi should practice what he preaches on trade

  At Davos in January, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India was open for business and even likened protectionism to terrorism. This month his government raised tariffs on nearly 50 product groups, from clocks and kites to TV and auto components. The measures follow new duties imposed in December on electronic goods such as mobile phones and microwave ovens. The ...

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