India’s out-of-pocket healthcare can’t win

Covid-19 related deaths in India are expected to double in the coming weeks. People across socioeconomic classes are being cremated en masse in large holes in the ground. The ordeal doesn’t even end with death. Medical bills are piling up, a burden large enough to tip working-class families into multi-generational poverty. Younger adults desperate for vaccines are effectively being forced ...

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SE Asia economies look submerged

Times are tough when you’re wrestling with Covid-19, recession — and a rapidly recovering America. The US offers superior rates of growth, a prospect once considered outlandish, and a bullish prognosis on vaccinations. Emerging economies in Southeast Asia are naked. They should also be afraid. The US economy is roaring back from 2020’s debacle. Unlike Donald Trump’s foundering response to ...

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UK’s Labour party is wounded by three Cs

Peter Mandelson, spirit guide to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, blamed the two “C”s for the Labour Party’s shattering defeat in a parliamentary by-election last week: “Covid and Corbyn.” The opposition party put up a poor showing in important local contests across the country, but the loss of Hartlepool to Boris Johnson’s Tories cut deep. On the doorsteps of ...

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What caused biggest jobs miss on record?

In the run-up to the US employment report, the forecasts of both economists and Wall Street analysts had migrated higher and pointed to an incredibly strong job creation number for April. What materialised, however, was a huge disappointment that constituted the biggest data miss on record. While firm conclusions about the reason will have to wait for more data over ...

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Air Canada pleads for plan to ease Covid-travel rules

Bloomberg Flush with bailout funds, Air Canada called on the government of its home country to lay out a plan for reopening borders as vaccination progresses. Canada’s biggest air carrier is in a position to ramp up operations after reaching a deal for nearly C$5.9 billion ($4.8 billion) in debt and equity with the federal government last month. Chief Executive ...

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Airbus: China is muscling in on rivalry with Boeing

Bloomberg Airbus SE expects China to become a legitimate rival in global planemaking by the end of the decade, upending the long-standing duopoly between the European company and US rival Boeing Co. China has long been a big customer for both manufacturers, accounting for a fifth of Airbus deliveries last year. The country is finally close to success in its ...

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JCPenney CEO touts $1.2b cash, credit buffer after bankruptcy

Bloomberg JCPenney landed in bankruptcy court after foundering during the pandemic, but the reorganised retailer now sports a relatively big liquidity cushion and its sales are growing. The company has more than $1.2 billion of cash and credit availability, interim CEO Stanley Shashoua said. And the 119-year-old company, whose financials are no longer public, has improved sales since it left ...

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UK reopens travel to 12 nations as tourist hotspots miss out

Bloomberg Britain will permit relatively open leisure travel to just 12 nations and territories including Portugal as it seeks to restart tourism while keeping control over the coronavirus pandemic. A legal ban on international leisure trips will be eased from May 17, the Department for Transport confirmed. Return journeys from approved countries will require Covid-19 tests but no period of ...

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Monde Nissin attracts GIC, AIA, Fidelity to $1b IPO

Bloomberg Philippine food maker Monde Nissin Corp is in talks with Singapore state investment fund GIC Pte and Hong Kong insurer AIA Group Ltd to become cornerstone investors in what could be the country’s biggest-ever initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. Fidelity International and Capital Group Cos are also in discussions to buy stock in the ...

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Office Depot aims to split over Staples deal

Bloomberg The parent of the Office Depot retail chain plans to split into two publicly traded companies, reshaping the company as rival Staples pursues an acquisition. ODP Corp said it would retain its retail consumer and small-business products and services, while separating its Business Solutions Division contract unit and independent regional office-supply distribution operations. The transaction, expected to be completed ...

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