South Korean President Park Geun-hye is in the middle of a political scandal that may lead to her impeachment. It centres on Choi Soon-sil, a shadowy confidant of the president, accused of using her personal ties with Park to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to non-profit foundations Choi set up and then used for personal gain. ...
Read More »India’s new strike against black money backfires
One week after India’s sudden declaration that 500- and 1,000-rupee notes were no longer legal tender, the economy is in chaos. And that’s perhaps because the policy was designed as much to shock and awe observers with the government’s command of the Indian economy as to control India’s “black money†problem. What seemed at first to be a masterstroke ...
Read More »Remembering Jack Rivkin, a Wall Street innovator
Jack Rivkin, who introduced many of the innovative research practices that eventually became commonplace at Wall Street’s biggest firms, passed away last week. He was 76. He was a warm and witty observer of the investment business, and was best-known for his work running Shearson Lehman Brothers’ research department. He also served as chief investment officer of Neuberger Berman, ...
Read More »What it will take to stop the march of globalization
This year has been full of news about the slowing or perhaps even end of globalization. The main evidence is that global trade volumes appear to have stopped rising, something that hardly ever happens outside of a recession. Still, if you step back a little, you can make a case that the globalization train is still chugging — slowly ...
Read More »United plans coach class with premium airfares
Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. is looking to create a more varied economy class with offerings for budget travellers, bigger spenders and those in between. The airline will begin selling its ‘basic economy’ fare in January, wooing passengers who want the cheapest tickets and are willing to forgo most other privileges. Those fliers will board last and won’t be ...
Read More »United to halt delivery of 61 Boeing jets
Bloomberg United Continental Holdings Inc. will defer delivery of 61 of Boeing Co.’s smallest passenger jets as the airline seeks to close its profit gap with Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. United plans to convert the order to the larger, newer Boeing 737 Max to be delivered at an undetermined date, slowing near-term capacity growth ...
Read More »Hugo Boss postpones growth to 2018
Bloomberg Hugo Boss AG said it won’t return to growth until 2018 as Chief Executive Officer Mark Langer embarks on a turnaround plan for the ailing German fashion house that includes eliminating brands, slowing down store expansion and selling more online. The retailer said 2017 will be a transition year as it reorganizes its wholesale unit that sells to ...
Read More »Wal-Mart, Target rate highest on chemical
Bloomberg Here’s one area where Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is handily beating Amazon.com Inc.: telling shoppers what ingredients are in the products they’re buying. That’s the conclusion of a scorecard that ranks major retailers’ policies on harmful chemicals. Wal-Mart holds the top spot, followed by Target Corp. Amazon occupies last place in the study, which is scheduled to be released ...
Read More »German travel site trivago files for IPO in US
San Francisco / AFP German-based hotel booking site trivago, controlled by US online travel giant Expedia, filed for a public share offering in New York. The firm founded in 2005 which aims to connect travellers to hotels at the lowest rate is used for booking at 1.3 million hotels in over 190 countries, and has 55 localized websites and ...
Read More »OPEC to discuss output cut without Iran, Iraq ministers
Bloomberg OPEC and Russia will meet in Doha on Thursday for another round of talks without ministers from Iran and Iraq, the two countries that pose the biggest obstacle to a deal to cut production. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are “all hands on deck†to reach an agreement by the group’s Nov. 30 meeting in ...
Read More »