AFP Ramped-up international sanctions on North Korea have inadvertently disrupted the already challenging work of aid agencies there, those in the field say, with risk-averse banks refusing to transfer funds needed to keep operations running. Aid shipments have also been held up or blocked indefinitely at Chinese customs in confusion over what is covered by the significantly upgraded UN sanctions ...
Read More »In 25 years, India’s never really embraced reform
On July 26, 1991, Manmohan Singh — then Finance Minister, and later Prime Minister for 10 years — rose in Parliament to deliver an address that would transform India. That speech, outlining the first budget of a just-elected government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, launched India’s journey of economic reform, dismantling many decades-old socialist-style controls on the private ...
Read More »Now Clinton has to even out her contradictions
Albert R. Hunt Hillary Clinton has been a national political figure for a quarter-century, longer than any presidential candidate. Yet contradictions and conflicting portraits of her persist. She is smart, well-versed in domestic and foreign-policy issues, revels in working things out and commands strong loyalty. She also is overly suspicious, insular, often nontransparent and disposed to cutting corners. She ...
Read More »Will robots upend Asia’s development model?
Christopher Balding When the Chinese appliance maker Midea Group announced a bid for the German robotics manufacturer Kuka AG this spring, it seemed like something of an omen. Kuka makes robots that specialize in assembling goods on a factory floor — exactly the kind of work that has lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty. After opening up to ...
Read More »Ryanair clings to profit goal as fare cuts counter Brexit risk
Bloomberg Ryanair Holdings Plc surprised investors by sticking to its fiscal 2017 profit forecast with a plan to lower fares to lure more passengers even as Britain’s decision to quit the European Union and a string of terrorist attacks in major European markets weigh on demand. Europe’s largest discount airline plans to carry 117 million passengers in the 12 ...
Read More »Boeing sees need for 30,850 new pilots a year
Bloomberg Global airlines will need to hire 30,850 pilots a year for the next two decades to keep pace with new planes on order and surging demand for air travel, according to a forecast by Boeing Co. Carriers will need to recruit and train about 617,000 pilots to fly the 39,620 aircraft, valued at $5.9 trillion, that the U.S. ...
Read More »Solar plane nears end of historic trip
AFP Solar Impulse 2 was on Monday approaching the end of its epic bid to become the first sun-powered airplane to circle the globe without a drop of fuel to promote renewable energy. When the experimental aircraft touches down in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Tuesday it will cap a remarkable 42,000-kilometre (26,097 mile) journey across four ...
Read More »Donuts in flight in first US approved drone delivery
AFP With a chicken sandwich, hot coffee and donuts, aviation history was made on Friday. These were among the items in the first drone delivery on US soil approved by aviation officials, made by convenience retailer 7-Eleven and the drone startup Flirtey. The delivery took place in Reno, Nevada, with the items loaded into a special box for hot ...
Read More »Wide-bodies’ luster tarnished as American defers Airbus jets
Bloomberg American Airlines’s decision to postpone delivery of nearly two dozen of Airbus Group SE’s sleek, fuel-efficient A350 jetliners amplifies concerns that demand is sagging for international air travel and large new aircraft. Wide-body sales have stalled this year as inexpensive fuel and a glut of readily available used jets diminishes airlines’ need to upgrade their fleets. Airbus and ...
Read More »Aberdeen’s assets climb amid weaker pound
Bloomberg Aberdeen Asset Management Plc’s funds overseen for clients rose 2.9 percent in the fiscal third quarter as the benefits of a weak pound helped offset outflows. The shares climbed. Assets under management increased to 301.4 billion pounds ($396 billion) from 292.8 billion pounds in the three months through June, Aberdeen said in a statement on Monday. Value appreciation ...
Read More »