Chipmaker Broadcom is selling its unit that allows users to access desktops and applications from any device to private-equity firm KKR in a deal valued at about $4 billion, as part of its efforts to simplify its business after VMware’s acquisition last year for a whopping $69 billion. The end-user computing (EUC) unit will become a standalone […]
As the world’s top global energy trading houses prepare for their biggest annual industry get-together this week in London they face a growing problem, what to do with their cash. Most trading houses, which are privately owned and controlled by their employees, disclose little about their cash position, equity or dividends. But according to more […]
British financier Jacob Rothschild, a senior member of one of Europe’s best-known banking dynasties, has died at the age of 87, his family announced on Monday. The family, in a statement to the UK’s Press Association news agency, called Rothschild “a towering presence in many peoples’ lives”. He was “a superbly accomplished financier, a champion […]
Land prices, as reflected in house prices relative to incomes, are near all-time records, pricing younger citizens out of home-ownership and affordable rents. This column argues that a green land value tax – a charge on the land plus a charge on the house minus a discount related to efficiency of the building’s energy usage […]
The WTO has noted that trade scepticism among policymakers and trade policy tensions over supply chains are manifesting themselves in even more fragmented and concentrated supply chains. This column develops a model to show how trade policy uncertainty deters the investment needed to facilitate integration into global value chains, and demonstrates how WTO agreements, by […]
The global COVID-19 vaccination campaign was the largest public health campaign in history, with over 2 billion people fully vaccinated within the first eight months. Despite one of the most widespread pharmaceutical interventions, the benefit of this campaign on all-cause mortality is not well understood and still debatable. This column documents the enormous health and […]
Authorities in Beijing shut some highways on Wednesday after heavier-than-expected snowfall hit the Chinese capital, part of a cold spell sweeping many parts of the country this week. With freezing rain and snow expected to last until Monday, officials boosted public transport arrangements in the sprawling city of nearly 22 million and shut eight highways, […]
HSBC Holdings reported a record annual profit, that nonetheless came in below analysts’ forecasts as the income boost from higher interest rates was offset by a hefty $3 billion charge from its stake in a Chinese bank. HSBC, which has a market value of $160 billion, reported on Wednesday a pretax profit of $30.3 billion for […]
Ford Motor Co on Tuesday said it had cut prices on its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV by up to $8,100 after sales fell sharply in January. The No. 2 U.S. automaker’s lowest-price 2023 model year Mach E version now has a suggested retail price of $39,895, down from $42,995. The higher-end Mach-E GT spec will […]
On 18 October 2023, following the conclusion of its “investigation phase”, the ECB’s Governing Council announced a specification of the functional scope and key features of a digital euro and also decided to proceed with the “preparation phase” of the project. This column focuses on the debate around the impact of a digital euro on […]
