September, 2017

• 9 September

  In US, the middle-class comeback is for real!

  

  On Labor Day, the American middle class survives. Indeed, it’s expanding. That’s not the conclusion of some arcane scholarly study. It’s the judgment of Americans themselves, though it hasn’t received much attention from politicians or the media. Most Americans have moved beyond the fears bred by the Great Recession. The middle-class comeback may be the year’s most underreported story. Public ...

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• 9 September

  Asia’s taxi companies give banks real competition

  

  In Southeast Asia, mobile banking is taking on a whole new meaning. Last week, Grab, one of the region’s top ride-hailing companies, announced that users of its app can start sending credits—used to pay for rides—to each other. By the end of the year, they’ll be able to use those credits at more than 1,000 restaurants and retailers. If all ...

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• 9 September

  How to close the gender gap in technology

  

  In the weeks since the now-infamous Google memo first stirred global controversy, too little light has been shed on the underlying issue — the large and undeniable gender gap in computer science, engineering and the technology business in general. Let’s begin with the proposition that this gap is a bad thing. At least three times as many men as women ...

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• 9 September

  Putin’s Ukraine peace offer is a Trojan horse

  No, Vladimir Putin has not suddenly become a man of peace. His recent overture in Ukraine should be seen for what it is — an effort to further his own interests — and treated as such. After the Russian president called for bringing United Nations peacekeepers into the Ukraine conflict, Germany’s foreign minister said he was “very glad” about the ...

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• 9 September

  Flaws in India’s economic ‘growth’ are becoming clear

  

  India has a way of confounding expectations. Analysts agreed that, months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ill-fated decision to withdraw 86% of currency from circulation overnight, growth would bounce back. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected growth in the April to June quarter to be 6.5%; other estimates were even higher. So when the government’s official statisticians released the real number ...

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• 9 September

  Keep internet’s backbone free from the censorship

  

  It was inevitable that the fallout from violent protests in Virginia organized by white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups would extend to the virtual world of the web. The internet is our modern commons. But the past few days have shown how fast we can glide down the slippery slope to web censorship. Facebook and Twitter were perfectly within their rights, ...

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• 9 September

  Take Elon Musk seriously on the Russian AI threat

  

  Elon Musk is worried about governments, specifically the Russian one, competing for artificial intelligence superiority and sparking World War III. That shocking statement was made all the more shocking by the low expectations the world seems to have for Russia, which US Senator John McCain dismissed just a few years ago as a “gas station masquerading as a country.” Recent ...

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• 9 September

  China rivals plan own debuts to challenge new IPhone

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s new iPhones are expected to come with vibrant full-screen displays, wireless charging and other cutting-edge technology. But consumers in China can get those features on other devices already — and without the sticker shock. Shoppers in the world’s biggest mobile market are accustomed to getting the latest technology with their Huawei, Oppo and Xiaomi handsets. That makes ...

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• 9 September

  BMW revives e-vehicle push with ‘i’ Sedan

  

  Bloomberg BMW AG will add a low-slung electric sedan to its stalled “i” sub-brand, part of plans to accelerate the rollout of battery-powered cars to counter Tesla Inc. The four-door model, kept under wraps as BMW showed journalists around its Munich design headquarters, is set to go on sale by 2021 and will slot in between the squat i3 city ...

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• 9 September

  LG launches Q6 in Gulf

  

  DUBAI / Emirates Business LG Electronics’ (LG) newest smartphone featuring the proprietary FullVision display is now available to consumers in the Gulf. The LG Q6, designed to meet the needs and expectations of discerning millennial customers, is part of the company’s latest line of powerful, mid-range smartphones boasting the essential features of LG premium phones at exceptional price points. As ...

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