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Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, has accused his far-right rival Marine Le Pen of being beholden to Vladimir Putin and of risking civil war in France with her plans to curb Islamism. But in a combative television debate four days before the final vote of the presidential election, Macron was unable to land the same kind
Derek Brower’s Big Read (April 14) correctly details US efforts to increase near-term oil and natural gas supplies to address shortages resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But history shows that high prices and security anxieties generally increase US policy efforts to reduce oil consumption. This suggests the Biden administration can use newly urgent energy
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Huw Price says that “universities should turn their backs on fossil fuel funding” (Opinion, April 12). I admit to being the recipient of such funding — apparently deemed unworthy — for over a decade. The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology-Oxford Centre for Petrochemical Research (KOPRC), established in 2010, seeks out
Back in January, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings sent this letter to investors: Dear Pershing Square Investor, Beginning on Friday and over the last several days, we acquired more than 3.1 million shares of Netflix, making us a top-20 shareholder in the company. The opportunity to acquire Netflix at an attractive valuation emerged when investors
I’ve been thinking a lot about age, and ageing, at work. When I see people decades younger than me in senior corporate positions, I realise that they must have planned and been smart about their goals and ambitions. I didn’t have a career plan in my 20s or 30s — and neither did any of
The head of the IMF has said Ukraine will need $5bn a month for the next three months to plug the hole left by the crippling impact of Russia’s invasion on the country’s finances. Kristalina Georgieva, the fund’s managing director, said the IMF would discuss Ukraine’s financing needs with the country’s partner governments. Georgieva suggested
A few moments ago, money markets began pricing in, with 100 per cent certainty, a half percentage point interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve next month. It seems certain that we’re in for the most aggressive global central bank tightening cycle in decades. Data snaphot from Bloomberg: And a prescient chartbook just dropped through
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bars and retailers have been delisting Russian brands in protest and, in some cases, theatrically pouring the liquor down the drain.  At the last count, UK sales of Russian vodka were down seven per cent according to NielsenIQ. Bestseller Russian Standard, which is distilled in St Petersburg, leaves a gap in the
Michael Pettis is a finance professor at Peking University and a senior associate at the Carnegie China Center. China’s recently released economic data illustrate just how difficult it has been for the authorities in China to implement economic policies to expand sustainable domestic demand. While first-quarter GDP grew nominally by 8.4 per cent year on
Several hundred GlaxoSmithKline workers have voted to go on strike after rejecting a below inflation pay rise, setting the stage for an industrial battle unusual in the pharmaceutical industry. Unite, the union representing the workers at manufacturing sites across the UK, said the strike would be the first in the drugmaker’s history. Unite members voted
ESG “is the Devil Incarnate”, Elon Musk wrote on Twitter this month. The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has obvious reasons for discomfort with the ESG agenda. While Tesla can boast uniquely impressive environmental credentials, having kick-started the global electric car industry, its social and governance record is more problematic. There have been serious allegations