February, 2017

• 7 February

  GM defies slower growth with bigger profits

  

    Bloomberg Swelling inventories, rising incentives and a flat US auto market usually suggest General Motors Co. will be preparing investors for a tough year. Instead, the biggest US automaker on Tuesday posted record annual profit and said it sees more growth on the horizon. GM expects to match or exceed last year’s results in large part because lucrative sport ...

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• 7 February

  Trump’s trade shifts put Brazil back in agriculture game

    Bloomberg Brazil’s agriculture minister expects that rising protectionism in the US will create “many opportunities” for his country’s industry, including increased trade with Mexico. Mexico’s representatives will discuss the possibility of importing soybean and beef from Brazil in a meeting with local farmers and industry members later this month, Blairo Maggi said at an event in Sao Paulo. “Brazil ...

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• 7 February

  Donald Trump is the singularity!

  

    There’s been some controversy over when Donald Trump decided to run for president. Some say it was at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, when he was roasted by both Seth Meyers and President Obama. I think it happened much earlier: August 29th, 1997, the date that Skynet became self-aware. Skynet is the artificial intelligence in the 1984 ...

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• 7 February

  Uber’s big fat Indian wedding service shows commitment

  

    After its defeat in China, Uber Technologies Inc. can’t afford to lose a second billion-people-plus market to a local incumbent. So the ride-hailing company has introduced a service in India to suit tastes there. Letting customers book the same cab for as long as 12 hours — instead of finding a new one for every journey — doesn’t have ...

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• 7 February

  China’s factories don’t fear Trump

    President Donald Trump seems determined to start a fight with China over trade. He’s appointed notable China skeptics to his economic team, badgered companies like Apple Inc. to stop making products on the mainland, and threatened tariffs of 45 percent on Chinese goods. He hopes to get companies to move their manufacturing operations back home and create jobs in ...

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• 7 February

  Israel’s settlement bill crosses red line

    Israel’s parliament passed a bill to retroactively legalise thousands of West Bank settler homes built on privately-owned Palestinian land. The move has triggered international outrage and will lead to setting up a court fight where the politically charged law may be overturned. The European Union postponed a February 28 meeting with Israel meant to signify improved relations and Jordan, ...

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• 7 February

  Pakistan’s economy is a pleasant surprise

  

    Each year I perform the exercise of picking what I think is the most underrated (and overrated) economy in the world. Past winners have included Germany, Mexico and, more recently, the Philippines. The designation is tricky, because it can go to an ailing country with an excessively bad reputation or maybe to a known star with virtues beyond what ...

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• 7 February

  Google China app entry won’t be something to shout about

  

    The going-concern issue is becoming a problem in Singapore. Ezra Holdings Ltd., an oil-services company, was the latest to indicate it faces debt hurdles that require a restructuring. Under Singapore law, as in the US, that could mean a stay on interest payments until creditors and shareholders agree on a balance sheet that allows the company to keep operating ...

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• 7 February

  The wisdom and madness of crowds

  

    Social scientists have always been fascinated by crowds. From guessing the weight of a cow to identifying which company built the faulty part in the space shuttle Challenger disaster, the many have often been able to outguess the expert few. Crowd wisdom is often cited as the justification for the idea of efficient asset markets — many investors, each ...

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• 6 February

  Food security tops UAE’s priorities

  

    Abu Dhabi / WAM The UAE, led by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, places food security at the top of its policy priorities and is proceeding to deliver the highest possible rates for national food security and its sustainability, said His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy ...

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