Headlines
Americas
The Supreme Court lets Americans lose money in a new way
The next round is on someone else AMERICANS love gambling. Nearly two-thirds of adults place some sort of stake each year, and about one-tenth visit Las Vegas to try their luck. Some even bet on whether the Supreme Court would strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992, which prohibits most sports gambling in...
Missouri’s governor is likely to be impeached
Arnie looked better ERIC GREITENS, who fired a machine gun and posed with an assault rifle in 2016 to advertise his love for gun rights, appears to have dodged a bullet. On May 14th, with jury selection under way, prosecutors in St Louis announced they were dropping an invasion-of-privacy charge against Missouri’s Republican governor. “This...
How the Trump administration is reshaping Medicaid
AMERICAN lawmakers are acutely afraid of rewarding the loafing poor. For that reason, Congress has set strict work requirements on federal food assistance and cash welfare. The Trump administration is now steadily doing the same for Medicaid, as America’s health-insurance programme for the poor is known. On January 11th the Centres of Medicare...
Democrats have plenty of anger, but few good ideas
IN SEARCH of a quiet spot to conduct interviews at the Centre for American Progress’s Ideas Conference in Washington this week, Lexington found a space outside the gender-neutral bathroom. This seemed doubly appropriate. The conference, an important gathering of the Democratic establishment, reflected how thoroughly the party has embraced liberal...
California’s primaries are the most unpredictable in America
LOTS of things come with warnings in California. Signs in parking garages admonish drivers that they could be exposed to carbon monoxide gas. Recently a judge ruled that coffee-sellers must warn of cancer. Voting instructions also come with an alert. Under a bold exclamation mark, a mail-in ballot insert sent to Los Angeles voters in anticipation...
Asia Pacific
Japanese firms step up overseas M&A
Number of deals hits record in first half as smaller companies get into the game With SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son taking the lead, Japanese companies have been engaging in mergers and acquisitions at record levels. Japanese corporations made 339 overseas mergers and acquisitions during the first half of the current Japanese fiscal year, the highest...
Investcorp adds Deepak Parekh to International Advisory Board
Investcorp, a global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced that Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Limited, Indian’s leading Financial Services conglomerate, has been appointment to Investcorp’s International Advisory Board. Mr Parekh has played a significant role in the development of the financial sector...
South Korea: Making up for lost time
After the impeachment of South Korea’s former president, Park Geun-hye, amid a far-reaching corruption scandal, the country was ready for change. South Korea’s new liberal president, Moon Jae-in, appears set to take on that challenge. Campaigning on a policy platform of job creation, corporate governance and labour market reforms, as well as promises...
Alibaba acquires majority stake In Indian ticketing startup TicketNew
Alibaba Pictures, the entertainment unit of China’s ecommerce major Alibaba Group, has acquired a majority stake in Chennai-based TicketNew for an undisclosed amount. Post-acquisition, Alibaba will have four representatives on TicketNew’s board and the firm’s promoters will have two of their representatives. TicketNew founder and CEO Ramkumar...
NIO unveils production vehicle for China Market
NIO unveiled new production vehicle, the NIO ES8, a 7-seater high-performance electric SUV for the China market - NIO ES8’s official launch will take place at the end of this year, with deliveries expected to begin next year - NIO to begin taking pre-orders of its flagship supercar, the NIO EP9, priced at 1.48 million USD - 11 Cars: NIO showcased...
Europe
Senior management changes at Investcorp
Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, today announced a series of senior management changes designed to further accelerate the firm’s growth strategy and potential. The changes were in part catalyzed by Mohammed Al-Shroogi’s intention to retire as Co-CEO effective August 2018. Al-Shroogi, who joined...
M&A: A reputation minefield
One of the most significant mergers in British retail history is currently in the offing. As Sainsbury’s and Asda navigate the complexities of knitting together two shopping brands that speak to different shopping cultures and consumer heartlands, we look at the opportunities, and the possible pitfalls that are emerging. How can these two retail behemoths...
Hinckley- based business reports exceptional growth for 2018
Hinckley based employee engagement and digital solutions firm, Workvine has reported exceptional growth of 167% year-on-year according to the company’s 2018 financial data. This comes amid reports of the negative impacts an uncertain Brexit climate might bring for SMEs. With a study by academics at The University of St Andrews concluding that small...
Reputation of UK companies in decline for the first time since 2008 financial crash, Reputation Institute reveals
Reputation of UK companies in decline for the first time since 2008 financial crash, reveals UK's biggest annual reputation ranking Major drop in the levels of trust and confidence in UK companies. 10% fall in consumers’ willingness to trust, invest in or endorse companies Poor communication drives reputation decline. 69% don’t know what companies’...
New mission-led investment venture to support Scotland's social entrepreneurs
A new mission-led investment venture aimed at stimulating social entrepreneurship in Scotland has been launched by leading responsible finance provider Social Investment Scotland (SIS). SIS Ventures plans to provide the tools and mission-aligned investment required to help early stage businesses and social enterprises grow and deliver social impact...
Mena
Congo Says 3 New Ebola Cases Confirmed in Large City
Congo Says 3 New Ebola Cases Confirmed in Large CityImageHealth care workers wearing protective gear at a treatment center in Bikoro, Congo. The country’s latest Ebola outbreak has spread to a city of more than one million people.CreditJohn Bompengo/Associated PressBy The Associated PressMay 19, 2018KINSHASA, Congo — Three new cases of the...
Of Crowns and Rings: Images of Royal Weddings Over a Century
The images of royal weddings are some of the most glamorous in our history books. But the events also have a real sticking power, be it in the memories of those who watched a day unfold or as an opulent footnote to an otherwise dreary history lesson.As Prince Harry prepares to wed Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle on Saturday, we took a look...
W.H.O. Says New Ebola Outbreak Is Not Yet a Top Health Emergency
W.H.O. Says New Ebola Outbreak Is Not Yet a Top Health EmergencyImageHealth workers preparing to enter an isolation ward on Saturday in Bikoro, Democratic Republic of Congo. Between April 4 and Thursday, 45 suspected Ebola virus cases were reported, the World Health Organization said.CreditMark Naftalin/UNICEF, via Associated PressBy Nick Cumming-Bruce...
Burundi Voters Back Constitution Extending Presidential Term
Burundi Voters Back Constitution Extending Presidential TermImageBurundians voting under guard in Bujumbura on Thursday. Preliminary figures indicate that more than 80 percent of voters approved the new Constitution.CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Jina MooreMay 18, 2018BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Burundi’s voters approved a new...
W.H.O. Decides New Ebola Outbreak is Not Yet a Top Health Emergency
W.H.O. Decides New Ebola Outbreak is Not Yet a Top Health EmergencyImageHealth workers preparing to enter an isolation ward on Saturday in Bikoro, Democratic Republic of Congo. Between April 4 and Thursday, 45 suspected Ebola virus cases were reported, the World Health Organization said.CreditMark Naftalin/UNICEF, via Associated PressBy Nick Cumming-Bruce...
International
What happens when Chinese students abroad return home
JIMMY ZHONG IS a Beijinger who speaks English with an American accent and wears a baseball cap. Sitting in his tatty office in the Chinese capital, he recalls the heady days of life in Manhattan after finishing his degree in maths and computer science at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. By then he was already rich, having sold his first company—an...
China’s insatiable appetite for foreign travel
IT IS SAID to be the second-most-popular destination for Chinese visitors to Britain after Buckingham Palace, yet Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to the country since 2009, jokes that he has refused invitations to take part in tree-planting ceremonies there. The attraction is Bicester, a town in Oxfordshire of little note for tourists except...
Long-term Chinese immigrants in Italy
THE CITY OF Prato, in the hills of Tuscany, is as Italian as the region’s Chianti. It is also the heart of the fashion industry, where fine fabrics are made for brands such as Gucci and Armani. “Made in Italy” is still a label proudly displayed. But many of Prato’s factories are now owned, and staffed, by Chinese. Within the 14th-century...
Why many rich Chinese don’t live in China
A STRAIGHT TRACK through a wood, and a guard hut at the end of it, is all there is to “China City of America”. A sign on a flimsy barrier says, “Do not enter”. It is hard to imagine that if the developer, a Chinese emigrée, has her way, this rural nook in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York might one day become a sprawling complex...
Chinese workers and traders in Africa
ON THE EDGE of Walvis Bay, a port town in Namibia sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and endless sand dunes, the offices-cum-residential-quarters of the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) look like a barracks. Electrified barbed wire tops the surrounding wall. A Chinese manager explains that “we have military-style management.” The...