New York Times (November 29)
“Paris will almost certainly not produce an ironclad, planet-saving agreement in two weeks. But it can succeed in an important way that earlier meetings have not — by fostering collective responsibility, a strong sense among countries large and small, rich and poor, that all must play a part in finding a global solution to a global problem.”
Tags: Agreement, Climate change, Collective responsibility, Global solution, Ironclad, Paris, Planet saving
The Economist (November 28)
We may be witnessing “the rise and fall of the unicorns” as unlisted technology companies begin to learn that valuations don’t always go up. “Technology companies are unlikely to experience a meltdown as severe as the housing crisis, but an industry that only yesterday was all promise and optimism is showing signs of cooling.”
Tags: Housing crisis, Meltdown, Optimism, Technology, Unicorns, Unlisted, Valuations
Chicago Tribune (November 26)
“Chicago will not begin to heal until there is accountability and transparency. If there is to be a silver lining in the death of Laquan McDonald, let it be shown through the power of the people who seek change and justice for all.” The release of a one-year old video showing a Chicago police officer shooting a black man 16 times, despite a non-threatening situation, triggered wide spread protests.
Tags: Accountability, Change, Chicago, Justice, Laquan McDonald, Police, Protests, Shooting, Transparency, Video
Wall Street Journal (November 25)
In the U.S., “the pressure on corporate profits may last longer than expected.” Many have attributed the contraction in corporate profits to temporary trends, namely “the weakness in the commodities sector, which is ravaging profits at energy companies, and the strong dollar, which is putting pressure on multinationals.” Though reassuring, “the problem with those dismissals is that oil may not be done going down, and the dollar may not be done going up.”
Tags: Commodities, Contraction, Corporate profits, Dollar, Energy, Multinationals, Oil, Pressure, Trends, U.S.
Bloomberg (November 25)
“Surging U.S. crude stockpiles that have filled storage tanks near capacity are widening the discount on immediate oil deliveries.” Known as contango, this discount may reach the stage of “supercontango” and is unlikely to go away soon.
Tags: Contango, Crude, Discount, Immediate deliveries, Oil, Stockpiles, Storage, U.S.
New York Times (November 24)
If successful, the planned $160 billion merger between Pfizer and Allergan will “be the biggest deal in what has been a banner year for mergers, driven in part by consolidation in the health care and pharmaceutical sectors.” It also promises to focus more attention, mostly negative, on tax inversions, the practice it will be using to lower its tax bill by relocating its post-merger tax home to Ireland.
Tags: Allergan, Consolidation, Health care, Ireland, Merger, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical sectors, Tax inversions
Washington Post (November 23)
“No matter how much more money flows into the top tier of college athletics, few big-time athletics departments turn a profit.” Of the over 50 public schools in the Power Five conferences (The NCAA’s SEC, PAC12, Big 10, Big 12 and ACC), only about 15 to 25 have been profitable over the past decade. The majority operate at a loss, despite a more than doubling of revenue in the past decade.
The Economist (November 21)
“The West has two things to defend: the lives of its citizens, and the liberal values of tolerance and the rule of law that underpin its society. Where these are in conflict, it should choose policies that minimise the damage to values in order to make large gains in protection. Sadly, in the scramble for security, that principle often seems to be the first thing to go.”
Tags: Citizens, Conflict, Liberal values, Lives, Protection, Rule of law, Security, Society, Tolerance
Chicago Tribune (November 20)
“How many refugees from Syria, Iraq or anywhere, for that matter, have committed acts of terrorism in the United States? Well, zero seems to be the answer.” And yet, out of an abundance of caution, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to restrict Syrian refugees. Talk about misplaced priorities. “When it comes to an actual threat — the near certainty that thousands of Americans will be slaughtered next year and every year going forward by guns in the wrong hands and by guns designed for the efficient killing of human beings — our lawmakers and state chief executives are inert.”
Bloomberg (November 19)
“As the rest of the world looks for ways to rein in high-frequency trading, Japan is making a mistake by letting it expand unchecked.” High-speed trading accounted for nearly half of TSE trading last year, but officials have done little to examine or regulate high-frequency trading. In contrast, stricter rules are being implemented overseas in Europe, the U.S. and even China.
