The world’s one-time economic rebel now looks staid. Japan was the first mover in some of the most radical steps in monetary policy, so it’s troubling that officials have done far less than their peers since the pandemic tore through global growth. Time for Bank of Japan (BOJ) officials to forge the Next Big Thing. The third-largest economy on the ...
Read More »How Etsy won the stock market in 2020
Pin up the artful balloon garlands and toss the custom glitter confetti: Etsy Inc is having a gangbusters year. The online marketplace for handmade, vintage and other creative goods, which joined the S&P 500 Index last month, is the best-performing stock in that group year to date: Like many of its e-commerce-focussed peers, Etsy benefited earlier this year when brick-and-mortar ...
Read More »What’s next if Trump is ‘unable’ to govern
Now that President Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid-19, the Department of Justice is almost certainly focussing on the 25th Amendment, which provides for the transfer of presidential authority to the vice president. No one who works for a sitting president wants to think about that amendment. But in any administration, worst-case scenarios get attention, and if the president ...
Read More »World’s best airport warns of ‘daunting’ future amid virus
Bloomberg Changi Airport Group said the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic isn’t abating as officials behind the world’s best airport warned of a “daunting†period ahead. Passenger traffic for Changi for the fiscal year ended in March declined for the first time in more than a decade, as a slump in the last two months of the period wiped out ...
Read More »Malaysia Airlines talks to lessors in restructuring
Bloomberg Malaysia Airlines Bhd has reached out to lessors, creditors and key suppliers as part of its “urgent†restructuring exercise as it sees little sign of the pandemic easing. The flag carrier, wholly owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, would take more drastic measures if the restructuring can’t be completed over the next few months, according to ...
Read More »Trump enters hospital with Covid, jolting poll campaign
Bloomberg President Donald Trump remains in a US military hospital outside Washington after contracting the coronavirus, a development that unnerved the White House and shook his struggling re-election campaign. The White House said his symptoms were mild and that he would continue to work from a suite at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, but his hospitalisation ...
Read More »Sudan signs peace accord with rebels
Bloomberg Sudan’s transitional government ratified a long-awaited deal with rebels that promises to end years of war in the western region of Darfur and two southern border states. Abdul-Fattah Al-Burhan, the president of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, signed the pact with the Sudanese Revolutionary Front in neighbouring South Sudan on Saturday, formalising an agreement made in August. Under the deal, ...
Read More »Ardern votes two weeks before election
Bloomberg New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has voted two weeks before election day as part of a strategy to encourage people to cast their ballots in advance. Early voting began on Saturday at 450 locations across the nation, ahead of the October 17 election day. The Electoral Commission has estimated as many as 60% of votes could be cast early, ...
Read More »India’s Covid-19 death toll tops 100,000 behind US
Bloomberg India’s coronavirus death toll passed the 100,000 mark on Saturday, a milestone reached only by the US and Brazil. The South Asian nation’s total number of positive cases is 6.47 million and the death toll from the virus is 100,842, according to the health ministry. India may overtake the US in the coming weeks to become the world’s worst-affected ...
Read More »Czech tycoon leader tops regional vote
Bloomberg Czech billionaire PM Andrej Babis’s party dominated regional elections, overcoming a drop in popularity over his mixed record in handling the resurgent coronavirus pandemic. Babis’s ANO party won the most mandates in 10 out of 13 regions in the vote, according to partial results. That compared with ANO’s victories in nine regions four years ago. While local administrations hold ...
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