Headlines

Americas

The Republicans’ defensiveness about Russian hacking is revealing

AMONG the Republicans cowering before President Donald Trump, the presence of Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan has been especially disheartening. Yet both threatened to regrow spines this week. “Russia is an adversary,” declared Senator Rubio, in response to the president’s fraternising in Helsinki. “Russia is a menacing government that does not...

Male voters are sticking with the Republican Party

MEN have long tended to favour Republican candidates; women have voted more for the “mommy party” than men in every election since 1992. Yet the gap now looks like a chasm. In 1992 women and men disagreed over which party they identified with by 11 points. The margin has since widened to 23 points (see chart). For comparison, Donald Trump won...

Voting machines in America are reassuringly hard to hack

IN THE run-up to the attacks of September 11th 2001, said George Tenet, the former director of the CIA, America’s intelligence system was “blinking red”. On July 13th Dan Coats, the current director of national intelligence, invoked Mr Tenet’s language to convey the magnitude of the threat posed by foreign hackers. “The digital infrastructure...

Donald Trump’s defensiveness about Russian hacking is revealing

How the decline of unions will change America

EVEN before the Supreme Court piled in, American unions were in a bad way. In their heyday in the mid-1950s, more than 30% of workers were members. Today just 11% are. With only a toehold in the private sector—where they cover a mere 7% of workers—unions have become increasingly reliant on faithful public-sector employees, 34% of whom are members,...

Asia Pacific

Rachika A Sahay joins HSA Advocates as Partner in the New Delhi office

Rachika A Sahay joins HSA Advocates as Partner to further strengthen the Projects, Energy and Infrastructure and Corporate practices. She will be operating out of the firm’s New Delhi office. Rachika has over a decade of experience in handling a broad range of deals in the energy sector. She also has diverse experience in handling corporate transactions...

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...

Europe

Investcorp appoints Dominic Courtman as Portfolio Manager in Credit Management

Investcorp, a leading global provider and manager of alternative investments, today announces the appointment of Dominic Courtman as Portfolio Manager and Director of Investcorp’s European Credit Management business (ICM EU). Dominic will be based in London and have responsibility for the portfolio management and structuring of closed-end credit...

AI throws light on automotive industry's billion dollar intellectual property

Cipher Automotive Delivers Essential Patent Data for the Automotive sector Aistemos, the market leader in AI-powered patent analytics, today published Automotive Patent Trends 2018, the definitive guide to who’s protecting what across electrification, autonomy and connectivity. This new source of competitive intelligence is made possible by Cipher...

Half of private equity firms not satisfied with their cybersecurity arrangements

Research by Augentius reveals sentiment and prioritisation of technology across PERE industry 51 per cent of Private Equity and Real Estate managers are less than satisfied with their current level of cybersecurityOver half view investing in their own firm’s technology as a high priority for the coming yearManagers expect data management technology...

ProLabs welcomes Matt McCormick as CEO of Halo

McCormick brings over ten years’ experience in the compatibles industry to Halo Technology Optical transceiver specialist, ProLabs, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt McCormick to CEO of Halo Technology, a group recently formed after the forces of ProLabs and AddOn came together in mid-2017. Joining AddOn in 2005 as a sales associate,...

Business development director with LSE experience to drive corporate growth at Hawksford

Hawksford has appointed a corporate business development director with over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, most recently focussing on clients within the corporate finance and equity capital markets arenas.Danny Curran, who will be based in the UK, will be responsible for securing and developing new business in Hawksford’s...

Mena

Eritrea Names First Ambassador to Ethiopia in Two Decades

Eritrea Names First Ambassador to Ethiopia in Two DecadesBy ReutersJuly 21, 2018NAIROBI, Kenya — Eritrea has appointed its first ambassador to neighboring Ethiopia in two decades, the government said on Saturday, as the two countries pushed on with a surprise rapprochement.The development was part of a head-snapping series of diplomatic moves...

Mugabe Has Left, but His Legacy Haunts Zimbabwe’s Election

Mugabe Has Left, but His Legacy Haunts Zimbabwe’s ElectionImagePresident Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, center right, inspected a military honor guard during an Independence Day celebration in April.CreditJekesai Njikizana/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesBy Jeffrey MoyoJuly 19, 2018HARARE, Zimbabwe — When Robert G. Mugabe stepped...

After 20-Year ‘State of War,’ a Flight With Champagne and Roses

After 20-Year ‘State of War,’ a Flight With Champagne and RosesImagePassengers pose on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, to Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, on Wednesday. The chief executive of the airline called the flight a “unique event.”CreditMaheder Haileselassie Tadese/Agence France-Presse...

Transcript: Obama’s Speech Defending Democracy

Transcript: Obama’s Speech Defending DemocracyVideoFormer President Barack Obama warned against the rise of “strongman politics” at an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth.Published OnJuly 17, 2018CreditImage by Siphiwe Sibeko/ReutersBy The New York TimesJuly 17, 2018In his highest-profile speech...

After 20-Year ‘State of War,’ Champagne and Roses on Flight From Ethiopia to Eritrea

After 20-Year ‘State of War,’ Champagne and Roses on Flight From Ethiopia to EritreaImagePassengers pose on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, to Asmara, Eritrea’s capital, on Wednesday. The chief executive of the airline called the flight a “unique event.”CreditMaheder Haileselassie Tadese/Agence...

International

Donald Trump is causing change in the Democratic Party too

BEFORE THE 2016 presidential election, Kirsten Hirsch was so lawabiding that she had never received so much as a parking ticket. In the months since then, she has been arrested four times for protesting on Capitol Hill. Before her first arrest, Ms Hirsch recalls, she was nervous. She had travelled from her home in suburban Denver, leaving a husband...

Donald Trump is causing change in the Democratic Party as surely as he has among Republicans

Democrats face a systemic disadvantage in winning power

WHEN POLITICAL PARTIES find themselves in the wilderness, being out of power can force them to change. This pressure is not as noticeable as it should be in the Democratic Party, probably because so many of its activists do not feel that they are actually losing. The party lost many federal and statewide offices during Barack Obama’s tenure as...

Who is a Democrat?

Hands up if you’re a Democrat AMONG THE 45th president’s many achievements has been his role as muse to a new literary genre: the redneck safari. Putting aside the numbers suggesting that Donald Trump’s victory was delivered by people who lived in the suburbs and were, on average, wealthier than those who voted for his opponent, scores of...

Building a multiracial coalition is more difficult than it seems

HOUSTON, A DRIVE-THRU megalopolis of nearly 7m people, is sometimes sneered at by residents of other big cities for being flat (true), hot (also true) and ugly (somewhat true). Yet if you are the sort of person who thinks human variety is appealing rather than threatening, then the city, which spreads over an area in east Texas the size of Massachusetts,...

The compliance revolution – how regtech is changing the face of regulation

Global M&A value up in H1, despite decline in volume

North American M&A volume increases in May, despite decline in value

Seedcamp announces final close of fourth fund at £60M with support from over 100 Seedcamp founders, angels and mentors via Seedrs

Western European M&A value nearly doubles year-on-year