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Barron’s (January 29)

2018/ 01/ 31 by jd in Global News

“Interest rates and volatility have been so low for so long that what was once abnormal is starting to look normal,” leading investment banks to adopt different approaches. Goldman has maintained its trading unit, “which lives or dies on volatility and which sealed Goldman’s reputation as the elite firm on Wall Street,” even though its revenue “has been reduced to crumbs.” In contrast, Morgan Stanley slashed the head count at its trading unit and has seen its market value surpass Goldman’s. But this could prove short-lived. “When trading conditions improve,” revenue from fixed income currency and commodities (FICC) “could bounce back quickly. No one else is as poised as Goldman to profit.”

 

Fortune (January 28)

2018/ 01/ 30 by jd in Global News

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, died at 91. With an estimated net worth of $58.7 billion, he was the world’s eighth-richest person. Renowned for living miserly, he created a revolution in furnishings. In 2005, he was named “the most influential taste-maker in the world” by the U.K. style magazine Icon, which wrote, “‘if it wasn’t for Ikea, most people would have no access to affordable contemporary design. The company has done more to bring about an acceptance of domestic modernity than the rest of the design world combined.’”

 

The Economist (January 27)

2018/ 01/ 29 by jd in Global News

“Not so long ago, GM and its peers seemed to be on a path to extinction. Technology firms such as Alphabet, Uber and other pushy newcomers had started a race to develop software that would control driverless cars and to offer ride-hailing and ride-sharing services that are expected to thrive at the expense of car ownership.” However, there’s been a sharp reversal in market sentiment and GM has taken pole position. “A scorecard issued annually by Navigant, a consultancy, puts GM ahead of the AV pack of carmakers and tech firms, with Alphabet’s Waymo in second place.”

 

Gizmodo (January 26)

2018/ 01/ 28 by jd in Global News

“We can’t rely on the market to create an ‘electric car revolution’ in Australia. Funding infrastructure, creating industry standards, legislating to reward and cheapen less-polluting cars, and educating the public are all part of the challenge.”

 

Financial Times (January 24)

2018/ 01/ 27 by jd in Global News

Undercover reporting by the Financial Times revealed “groping and sexual harassment” at a secretive black-tie event that “has been a mainstay of London’s social calendar for 33 years.” Thursday’s event, attended by 360 men “from British business, politics and finance” with entertainment provided by 130 female hostesses, however, will be the last. The expose unleashed a deluge of criticism and The Presidents Club is disbanding.

 

Bloomberg (January 24)

2018/ 01/ 26 by jd in Global News

This April, Capetown may become the first “great world city” to run out of water. Experts now expect “the reservoirs that feed this most beautiful of coastal cities will drop below critical levels, and stand at 13.5 percent of capacity. Taps will run dry in homes and businesses, and residents may have to start lining up” to fill containers with no more than “25 liters per person, as the city government desperately tries to reduce water consumption.” This is what happens when you “ignore warnings, underinvest and pretend that the rain will fall.”

 

The Economic Times (January 24)

2018/ 01/ 25 by jd in Global News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is usually an inspiring speaker, “but little of that was on display…. when Modi took the stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.” Though he hit some strong notes, “it wasn’t clear what, concretely, India would do to persuade or win over waverers; how it would forge new alliances and blaze new trails to progress….. Davos didn’t want India to sell itself to the world; it needed India to lead.”

 

Time (January 22)

2018/ 01/ 24 by jd in Global News

“Four out of every five dollars of wealth generated in 2017 ended up in the pockets of the richest one percent, while the poorest half of humanity got nothing,” according to a recent report by Oxfam, which “highlights a global system that rewards the super-rich and neglects the poor.”

 

Wall Street Journal (January 21)

2018/ 01/ 23 by jd in Global News

Carl Icahn the largest investor in Xerox has formed an alliance with billionaire Darwin Deason, the third largest investor, “to encourage the printer and copier giant to explore a potential sale…. The fact that they are working together and own such a big stake is sure to ratchet up the pressure on a company that is grappling with slumping demand as the world becomes more digital—and is already considering a major transaction.” Due to its “strategic importance,” the Fuji Xerox joint venture “would likely be at the center of any review.”

 

New York Times (January 21)

2018/ 01/ 22 by jd in Global News

The Government shutdown spotlights Donald Trump’s major shortcoming. The current President proved “woefully inept at making tough deals…. Trump is an unrepentant, unremitting liar. That makes deal-making impossible. His word is meaningless and his policy principles are murky. He is mercurial and inconsistent. This may well have worked in business, to keep people off kilter, but it won’t work in politics.”

 

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