Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter Inc for $43 billion — but he has only about $3 billion in cash on hand. Most of the fortune of the world’s richest man, which adds up to some $259 billion, is tied up in Tesla Inc and other nifty things. So if he’s serious about a takeover — and there is ample ...
Read More »Singapore is willing to live with Covid-19!
Two of Asia’s most important trading nations stepped up the fight against inflation as the battle with Covid winds down. Like the spread of the virus, officials need to reckon with a certain inevitability: The pace of price increases will only accelerate, in the medium term. No matter the response, there will be economic costs. The Monetary Authority of ...
Read More »Looking-glass world of Hong Kong democracy
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.†— the White Queen. Analysts trying to evaluate the prospects for a revival of Hong Kong’s economic fortunes under a new chief executive might be better off discarding their political science manuals and consulting Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass.†Assessing whether events will follow the course ...
Read More »EU sanctions tweak allows jet owners to sell to Russia
Bloomberg An amendment to European Union sanctions created a potential path for some aircraft financiers to sell jets held in Russia to the airlines now operating them without permission. The measure will allow EU governments to grant permission for entities in their states to keep receiving payments from Russian companies on so-called financial leases signed before February 26. Ownership ...
Read More »Bed Bath & Beyond faces supply snags, slowing sales
Bloomberg Bed Bath & Beyond Inc blamed an unexpected fourth-quarter loss and slowing sales on global supply-chain disruptions and weakening consumer confidence. The retailer said that an “abnormally high†level of inventory was in transit, unavailable or held at ports through the early part of this quarter. That contributed to a larger-than-expected drop in sales and has thrown a ...
Read More »American Air union sues over plan for training new pilots
Bloomberg American Airlines Group Inc was sued by its pilots union to block a plan that would seek volunteers to help with flight-simulator training amid record hiring. The plan would violate the Railway Labor Act, which prohibits unilateral changes to contracts between airlines and their unions, according to the suit, filed by the Allied Pilots Association (APA) in a ...
Read More »Fast Retailing gains on higher profit, North America push
Bloomberg Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing Co rose the most in more than three weeks after reporting a 27% jump in quarterly operating profit and kept its outlook for the fiscal year despite the shutdown of its Russian operations and the resurgence of Covid in China that are fueling uncertainty in clothing sales across the world. Operating profit rose to 70 ...
Read More »Lawson to raise chicken nugget prices for first time in 36 years
Bloomberg Japanese convenience store operator Lawson Inc will raise the prices of its beloved chicken nugget snack “Karaage-Kun†for the first time since it was introduced in 1986. The price of the five-pack nuggets, sold in a paper envelope with a toothpick and a chicken illustration that’s instantly recognisable to anyone in the country, will increase 10 percent to ...
Read More »Brazil sales beat forecast as Omicron fades
Bloomberg Brazil’s retail sales rose more than forecast on gains in categories such as fuels, clothing and electronics, as cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus plunged. Sales rose 1.1% in February from the month prior, more than the 0.3% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. At the same time, January’s increase was revised higher to 2.1%. ...
Read More »US senator warns China will pay bigger price for bullying Taiwan
Bloomberg A group of senior US senators delivered a message of support for Taiwan during a visit, a move that China answered with a display of military force. Members of the delegation, including Republican Lindsey Graham, told Beijing that the US will start making China account for bullying Taiwan and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “Here is ...
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