Amid the turmoil at Uber that resulted in Travis Kalanick’s stepping down as chief executive, the company announced a series of changes in late June aimed at improving its drivers’ work experience, including a new tipping option in its passenger app. But even as Uber makes a concerted effort to win over drivers, it has […]
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The opioid crisis has major costs for the U.S. economy, including the labor market, David Mericle, senior U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs, said in a Wednesday note. The report is one of the first from a major Wall Street bank focused on the growing epidemic killing more than 90 Americans every day. “The opioid epidemic […]
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HE WAS back in favour, or so it appeared. After spending several months under house arrest in late 2014, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian oligarch, relinquished control of Bashneft, a midsized oil firm, to the state. “If you like another company tomorrow and want to take it, you are welcome,” he told Vladimir Putin at the […]
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OUTSIDE a squat grey building in Santa Monica, the California sun melts the tar. Inside, in a dark room roughly the size of a small shipping container, two men are exploring the world by means of virtual reality (VR). They squash spiders in an abandoned temple, hit a home run at Yankee Stadium and float […]
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NIKLAS OSTBERG spent much of his youth as a competitive cross-country skier in Sweden. Then he ditched his skis for a less healthy cause. A decade ago he founded a firm that matched online pizza orders to restaurants. It grew into Delivery Hero, a Berlin-based service that last year dispatched nearly 200m takeaway dinners to […]
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THE European Commission celebrated 25 years of the EU’s internal aviation market in June. The liberalisation of European aviation, which allowed EU carriers to fly between any airport within the bloc, opened the skies to the masses. Greater choice of airlines has cut fares—by as much as 96% between Paris and Milan since 1992, for […]
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JUSTIN WILLIAMS takes off a virtual-reality (VR) headset and wobbles away from a demo area at E3, the world’s largest gaming convention, in Los Angeles. The bottoms of his feet and calves are “on fire,” he says. Mr Williams, a 32-year-old former marine, was playing “Sprint Vector”, a VR running game: players swing hand-held controllers […]
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JULY 4th is a day to celebrate American independence, first and foremost, but also to grill meat and swill beer. For American beer lovers in particular, the pint-glass runneth over in terms of choice. They had 5,000 breweries to pick from this year; 35 years ago there were under 100. Drinkers can enjoy time-honoured traditions, […]
Read moreThe US housing finance system continues to put taxpayers at risk in a market dominated by government-backed agencies, Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell said on Thursday, calling for further reform of an “unsustainable” situation. A decade after doubts about the creditworthiness of mortgage-backed securities helped trigger the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, systemic […]
Read moreL Brands shares fell more than 10 percent Thursday morning after the specialty retailer reported a decline in same-store sales in June. The operator of stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works said same store sales fell 9 percent last month, worse than the 7 percent decline expected by analysts in a […]
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