October, 2016

• 27 October

  Globalization looks like it has shifted into reverse

  

  There’s a backlash against globalization underway in many Western countries. Although Americans still say positive things about international trade and immigration, political candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have gotten a lot of support for opposing both to a degree that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Meanwhile, trade deals like the relatively innocuous Trans-Pacific Partnership are suddenly ...

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• 27 October

  Indian companies need to let their heirs breathe

  

    India’s Tata group of companies, which sells everything from salt to software, is known for being, well, old-fashioned. Genteel, even. It tries very hard to avoid any sort of controversy. That’s why the sudden removal of the group’s young chairman, Cyrus Mistry, and his replacement by his predecessor, Ratan Tata, is particularly startling. Apparently, not even Tata Sons Ltd., ...

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• 27 October

  Farmers have tech on their side. Weeds have evolution

    Some 12,000 years ago, with the invention of farming, humans started a war against weeds — and the weeds are still a step ahead. As farmers advanced from using hard labor to protect their crops to using chemicals and genetic engineering, the weeds survived thanks to the oldest weapon known to living things: evolution. Now, while scientists work on ...

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• 27 October

  British economy goes up defying recession fears

  

    Bloomberg The UK economy slowed less than economists forecast in the quarter after the Brexit vote because of a surge in services, providing ammunition for critics of those who warned of a possible fallout before the referendum. The 0.5 percent expansion was better than the 0.3 percent median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. Services surged 0.8 percent, ...

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• 27 October

  Belgium makes breakthrough in talks for EU-Canada deal

  

    Brussels/ AFP Belgium announced on Thursday a breakthrough in talks to secure a landmark EU-Canada trade deal by winning over the leaders of a recalcitrant Belgian region, potentially snapping a deadlock which threatened European credibility anew. However, the announcement came too late for EU leaders and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to go ahead with a signing ceremony in ...

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• 27 October

  Nokia cuts losses as merger with rival proceeds

  

    Helsinki / AFP Finnish telecom equipment giant Nokia said on Thursday it has managed to reduce losses but remained in the red in the third quarter after acquiring its former rival, French-American Alcatel-Lucent. The world’s former number one in handsets, which turned into a telecom equipment maker, reported a net loss of 125 million euros ($135 million) in the ...

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• 27 October

  ‘Dieselgate’ clouds gather over Audi

  

    Berlin / AFP German auto giant Volkswagen on Thursday lifted its forecast for the year after swinging back to profit, but the fallout from the group’s “dieselgate” emissions cheating scandal weighed heavily on its luxury brand Audi. One year on from the crisis, the VW group’s recovery appeared on track as it posted net profit of 2.3 billion euros ...

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• 27 October

  Children left in Calais ‘Jungle’ as demolition gathers pace

  

    Calais / AFP Dozens of migrants, including children, were left wandering on Thursday through France’s “Jungle” camp after sleeping rough on the edges of the burnt-out Calais settlement. Excavators began tearing down remaining shelters a day after the official operation to clear the camp came to a dramatic end, with fires started by departing migrants ripping through the shanty ...

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• 27 October

  ‘IS suspect’ charged with scouting Berlin attack sites

    Berlin / AFP German federal prosecutors said on Thursday they had brought charges against a 19-year-old Syrian man accused of having scouted targets in Berlin for a potential attack by the IS group. The man identified only as Shaas Al-M. allegedly joined the extremist group in 2013 and took part in various military operations in Syria, they said in ...

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• 27 October

  Vietnam seizes third illegal ivory shipment in a month

    Hanoi / AFP Vietnam customs officials have seized nearly one tonne of ivory hidden in a timber shipment from Kenya, an official said on Thursday, the third major illegal haul of precious tusks in less than a month. The communist nation is a popular transit route for illegal ivory from Africa heading to other parts of Asia, namely China, ...

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