Rees-Mogg says he doesn’t want to oust May

Bloomberg Outspoken Brexit supporter and frequent government critic Jacob Rees-Mogg said he’s not going to challenge Prime Minster Theresa May for her job. “I don’t wish to be prime minister, I’m very happy as a backbench minister in Parliament,” Rees-Mogg said on the BBC’s “Andrew Marr Show” on Sunday. “Of course I wouldn’t challenge the prime minister. The prime minister ...

Read More »

Putin urges patience in Abe’s bid for islands’ deal

Bloomberg Russian President Vladimir Putin urged patience in efforts to resolve a territorial dispute with Japan that’s lasted since World War II after Kremlin talks Saturday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in a disappointment for the Asian country’s leader, who’s made striking a deal a priority. “It is important to patiently continue the search for a solution,’’ Putin said. Abe, ...

Read More »

For EU, Italy is a bigger problem than Brexit

The new government finally taking shape in Italy is one of the weirdest coalitions you could imagine — and a pretty effective combination if your aim was to sabotage the European Union. Although predictions about where this Italian misadventure is heading are difficult, it could easily be worse than Brexit for the EU. The coalition partners — the left-populist Five ...

Read More »

Walmart regains e-commerce mojo

Walmart Inc. shook investors earlier this year with an e-commerce stumble. Last week, it took a step towards reclaiming the narrative that it has a handle on its digital strategy. As the big-box retailer reported first-quarter earnings, much of the focus was on one number: Its US e-commerce growth. Walmart’s digital business had been booming for a while under Jet.com ...

Read More »

M&S needs to stock up on its bitter medicine

Archie Norman, the famed turnaround specialist who is now chairman of Marks & Spencer Group Plc, is hoping for a textbook turnaround of Britain’s biggest clothing store by value. He is certainly reading from the classic first page: on Wednesday the company announced 514 million pounds ($688 million) of one-time charges, more than halving pre-tax profit in the year to ...

Read More »

It’s good if Trump surrenders on tariffs

President Donald Trump’s aggressive new trade policy isn’t going too well. His threats to impose tariffs on imports from China, Europe and other trade partners have so far yielded much less than he promised — and instead of retaliating, he shows signs of backing off. It’s right to criticize him for saying one thing and doing another, but bear in ...

Read More »

Homelessness is a tragedy the US can afford to fix

First the good news: Homelessness in the US is down. In the mid-2000s, President George W. Bush’s ‘housing first’ program made substantial inroads against the problem. President Barack Obama continued the campaign with the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program in 2009 and a follow-up program in 2010. As a result of these efforts, the nationwide homeless population has continued ...

Read More »

It’s time to regulate the lithium cartel

The world doesn’t like its essential commodities being controlled by a small group of producers. Less than a year after BHP Billiton Ltd. announced plans to merge its iron ore operations with those of Rio Tinto Group in 2009, the proposal was dropped amid expectations that regulators in Europe and Asia would oppose the deal on antitrust grounds. So why ...

Read More »

Facebook’s apology tour just raises more questions

A pattern has emerged in Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg’s response to various legislative bodies’ interest in his company. The more informed and pointed questions legislators want to ask, the less time Zuckerberg is willing to spend answering them. That should mean it’s probably time to stop asking and start acting in specific areas that have been adequately pinpointed ...

Read More »

Halfway back from brink, stocks sit still as investor mood heals

Bloomberg Anyone with a sense of symmetry can appreciate the S&P 500 Index right now. After bouncing all year, the equity benchmark just spent a week sitting at the precise midpoint of this year’s trading range. A perfect 50 percent retracement, in the language of technical analysis. Which is to say, it’s stopped moving — at least for the last ...

Read More »
Send this to a friend