APPLE has a new hit device, so popular that it has sold out across most of America and Britain. If you order it online it takes six weeks to arrive. “Best Apple product in a long time,” sings one online review. Useful and (of course) slickly designed, it enjoys the highest consumer satisfaction of any […]
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Adrian Wooldridge, who wrote the Schumpeter column from its inception until the end of last year, won the commentary category at the 2017 Gerald Loeb awards in New York. Anton La Guardia, Edward McBride, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Chris Lockwood, Nick Pelham and Henry Tricks won the breaking-news category for their exclusive on Saudi Arabia’s plans […]
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NESTLÉ is not easily rattled, to some investors’ chagrin. The world’s biggest food company accounts for about half of all sales of instant coffee, not to mention one quarter of grub for babies, dogs and cats. Thirty-four of its brands, including KitKat and Nespresso, earn over $1bn each. Yet many investors complain that Nestlé is […]
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CONGLOMERATES sometimes sell their least promising units, thereby ginning up returns for the remaining empire. But groups saddled with huge debts do not have that luxury; only by disposing of the most profitable parts can they raise enough funds to satisfy creditors. Such is the story of the Essar Group, which is in the final […]
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THE IMF, claims Pakistan’s government, is surplus to requirements. Ministers in its business-minded ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), boast of a record that means the country can pay its own bills. “We will not go back to the IMF programme,” declared Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, in May, almost a year after the […]
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AIRBAGS are meant to make driving safer. But for years, some made by Takata, a Japanese firm, inflated with such vigour that shards of metal and plastic were launched at occupants of vehicles in even minor collisions, causing serious injury and in some cases death. The costs of the biggest-ever recall of vehicles, hauled back […]
Read moreThe dramatic data-scrambling attack that hit computers around the world Tuesday appears to be contained. But with the damage and disruption still coming into focus, security experts worry the sudden explosion of malicious software may have been more sinister than a criminally minded shakedown of computer users. “There may be a more nefarious motive behind […]
Read moreBlue Apron shares hovered near their IPO price in their first moments of trading on Thursday, rising almost 6 percent. The start-up made its trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “APRN” on Thursday morning. The company priced its IPO at $10 a share, the low end of the expected range […]
Read moreChinese President Xi Jinping touched down Thursday in the Special Autonomous Region of Hong Kong. Xi is there to mark 20 years on July 1 since the city’s handover from former colonial power the U.K., and was greeted by scores of children dutifully waving red Chinese flags.According to Lord Chris Patten, the last British governor […]
Read morePrivate equity buyouts have enjoyed the strongest start to a year since before the financial crisis as fund managers have come under intense pressure from investors to deploy some of the record amount of capital they hold. The volume of deals involving private equity firms climbed 29 per cent to $143.7bn in the first half […]
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