Bloomberg Oil slid further into a bear market as rising global supply is countering efforts by OPEC and its allies to drain a glut. Futures fell as much as 1.1 percent in New York after front-month prices closed on Tuesday more than 20 percent below their February peak. Libya, exempt from the OPEC-led output cuts, is pumping the most in ...
Read More »UK set up for global gas fight as giant storage site shuts
Bloomberg Already buffeted by political chaos at home and abroad, the UK gas market must now operate without its biggest stabilizing force: the giant Rough gas storage facility under the North Sea. The planned permanent shutdown of the Centrica Plc site, able to meet 10 percent of peak demand in winter, means Britain is becoming even more reliant on imports ...
Read More »Apple claims ‘mounting evidence’ against Qualcomm’s business
Bloomberg Apple Inc. said in a legal filing that there is “mounting evidence†Qualcomm Inc. is operating an “illegal business model†designed to extract high patent royalties on every wireless device sold. The iPhone maker said it was adding more allegations to a complaint filed in January that accuses Qualcomm of trying to monopolize the chip market for wireless devices. ...
Read More »TPG targets $3bn for fourth growth-equity fund
Bloomberg TPG, an investor in Uber Technologies Inc. and Airbnb Inc., is seeking $3 billion for its fourth growth-equity fund, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The private equity firm plans to start raising money for the pool this year and is targeting the same amount it got for its third fund, which finished collecting $3 billion in ...
Read More »Uber CEO quits under pressure from investors
Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick has resigned after a series of controversies that rocked the world’s largest technology startup and exposed deep problems with its male-dominated culture. The man most closely identified with the ride-hailing giant’s meteoric global ascent said he was ceding to investors’ wishes that he step aside, in part to avoid yet another ...
Read More »America sings the postindustrial blues
Ever since Donald Trump’s election, a cottage industry of politicians, journalists, scholars and commentators has sought to understand what motivates Trump supporters. Theories have ranged from globalization to a rebellion against Washington elitism to racism. But the true cause may have been overlooked: the “postindustrial society.” It has imposed on the economy a wage structure that systematically generates inequality between ...
Read More »Desperate roll of the dice on India’s distressed dozen
Fifty-six years. That’s how long it would take if the one dozen companies the Indian central bank is pushing into bankruptcy were to repay creditors by handing over their entire current operating income. For India’s capital-starved commercial lenders, at the receiving end of much of this $37 billion of unpaid debt, waiting for even 56 days without a resolution isn’t ...
Read More »The Senate’s message to Russia (and Trump)
With its 98-2 vote to expand sanctions against Russia, the U.S. Senate has effectively served notice on two great powers in Washington: Russia, which may have to face new costs for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. election; and President Donald Trump, who will have to contend with congressional input on U.S. policy towards Russia. The bill, which also strengthens ...
Read More »Eastern Europe and the rule of law
For several years the European Union has heaped criticism on the governments of Poland and Hungary for flouting EU rules and undermining EU values. So far, it’s been mostly talk. Lately the violations have mounted. Support for some kind of punishment is growing, and a showdown seems to be looming. Yet the EU is finding that it lacks good — ...
Read More »India is about to upend the global beef trade
India’s paradoxical relationship with beef took a new turn last month, when the environment minister imposed a ban on the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter at animal markets. Cow slaughter has been banned for decades in India because of the cow’s traditional status as a respected creature in Hinduism, the largest religion in India. In some cases, penalties ...
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