World news

Source: AFP Beijing is prodding government-owned firms and state-backed property developers such as China Vanke Co Ltd to purchase some of embattled China Evergrande Group's assets, people with knowledge of the matter said. Evergrande, saddled with $305 billion in liabilities, is teetering on the brink of collapse. But the central government is unlikely to intervene directly to resolve Evergrande's crisis in the form of a bailout, according to six people, including four in government and regulatory bodies. Authorities are hoping, however, that asset purchases will ward off or at least mitigate any social unrest that could occur if Evergrande were to suffer a messy collapse, they said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Close A handful of government-owned enterprises have already done due diligence on assets in the southern Chinese city Guangzhou, said one person. In one emblematic example, Guangzhou City Construction …

Continue Reading about China asking state-backed firms to pick up Evergrande assets: Report →

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's general election, which had been scheduled for Nov. 7, has been postponed after Prime Minister Ariel Henry dismissed the council that organizes elections, which many in the country had felt was too partisan. Henry promised to appoint a new electoral council (CEP) that he said would be non-partisan and would set a new date for elections. Henry told CNN in an interview broadcast on Tuesday the process to replace the council had begun and elections would take place after a constitutional review in the "first months of the coming year." "We have made the decision today to halt this electoral council and form another one, one that will be more consensual and one that will be accepted by all of society," he added. The dismissal of the nine-member council, which was widely expected and confirmed by a decree in the official gazette on Monday, was met with approval by some lawmakers who had expressed doubts over its legitimacy. "We will ensure …

Continue Reading about Haiti’s elections postponed after electoral council dismissed →

advertisement advertisement advertisement advertisement Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest music company, went public in Amsterdam on Tuesday. Shares of the record label—which represents artists like Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, and Drake— jumped by nearly 40% on their first day of trading. (They were down about 4% on Wednesday following the jump.) That was Europe’s largest IPO listing of 2021, giving Universal a market value of over $55 billion and perhaps anyone who wrote off the music industry as doomed something to ponder. advertisement The top 10 bestselling artists from last year were all signed to Universal, so its perceived value isn’t a complete surprise. But it also isn’t difficult to remember the 2000s, when young music fans were tossing their CD storage cases and downloading legally questionable Napster and KaZaA MP3 files to their iPods. That decade, music sales plummeted by half , seemingly a …

Continue Reading about Universal Music Group’s smash-hit IPO is another victory for streaming →

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Despite many of the tools that became commonplace during the pandemic existing to facilitate remote work long before Covid thrust it forward as the modus operandi for workplaces around the world, remote work had struggled to gain acceptance at any kind of scale. This makes it clear that it wasn't the tools per se that were the problem, but rather the ways of working and managing that struggled to reconcile an on-premise workforce and a virtual workforce. Indeed, the most popular article of the year to date at MIT Sloan's Management Review is on the new ways of leading in this hybrid work environment. "Effective leadership in this new hybrid world requires different skills that go beyond traditional team leadership," the authors explain. Forming bonds As James Citrin and Darleen Derosa explain in Leading at a Distance, one of the main challenges experienced during the rush to virtual working has been successfully …

Continue Reading about How To Form Bonds In A Virtual Workplace →

- A + A SHANGHAI (Sept 28): China faces mounting pressure to ramp up coal imports and ensure supplies to keep lights on, factories open and water flowing as a severe power crunch roils the northeastern industrial heartland. With electricity shortages sparked by coal shortages crippling large sections of industry, the governor of Jilin province, one of the hardest hit in the world's no.2 economy, called for a surge in coal imports, while a power company association said supply was being expanded "at any cost". News organisations and social media carried reports and posts saying the lack of power in the northeast had shut down traffic lights, residential elevators and 3G mobile phone coverage as well as triggering factory shutdowns. A utility in Jilin even warned power shortages could disrupt water supplies at any time, before apologising for causing alarm. For the second straight day, the main state grid operator sought to reassure customers, saying it would work …

Continue Reading about China energy crunch triggers shutdowns, pleas for more coal →

advertisement advertisement advertisement advertisement Remember the days when everyone who was presenting, and everyone involved in a discussion, was in the same room? That was straightforward. Everyone could see the speaker, the slides, and the other people. Maybe there was a written agenda or other handouts. advertisement advertisement Think back to the depths of the pandemic when everyone involved in the discussion was on a teleconference. Everyone had the same view. The chatbox was open for side conversations, everyone could see the slides, and handouts were sent electronically. It was easy enough to know who was in attendance and, also know when someone had left the room. Now, large and small companies are urging their employees into the office. Some come in every day, some a few days, and some not at all. Events and meetings include people who are physically present and people who are working from remote …

Continue Reading about Consider these factors if you want to be a more inclusive speaker →

Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio celebrates after defeating Myanmar’s Oo Nwe Ni to claim the gold medal during the 30th South East Asian Games 2019 Women’s Featherweight (57 kg). INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon MANILA, Philippines—Nesthy Petecio displayed her championship pedigree and hacked out a decisive win over Myanmar’s Oo Nwe Ni to capture the women’s boxing featherweight gold medal of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games Monday at PICC Forum. The reigning Aiba World Champion was on target early in the fight, landing overhand rights down her Burmese foe’s temple in the first round. Petecio, who won her first SEA Games gold medal, then turned methodical in the next two rounds and put the fight under control with her jabs and counters for the 5-0 unanimous decision win, “At first I was nervous because she’s a tough opponent and this was a heavy fight for me because I was going to fight in the finals immediately,” said Petecio, who went straight to the finals after a bye, in …

Continue Reading about SEA Games: Nesthy Petecio outclasses Burmese foe for boxing gold →

What happened This isn't shaping up to be a good week for the stocks of leading COVID-19 vaccine makers. Several of the stocks slipped on Monday . The downtrend continued today. Shares of Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE ) were down 1.6% at 11:27 a.m. BioNTech ( NASDAQ:BNTX ) stock had fallen 9.4%. Moderna 's ( NASDAQ:MRNA ) shares were 6.2% lower. Novavax ( NASDAQ:NVAX ) was an especially big loser, its shares having sunk 11.6%. The declines for these vaccine stocks came despite some good news for several of them. Pfizer and BioNTech submitted initial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from a late-stage study of their COVID-19 vaccine in children younger than 12 years down to age 5. Indian regulators also allowed the Serum Institute of India to begin enrolling kids ages 7 to 11 in a clinical trial evaluating Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine. So why are the stocks falling today? It's probably because investors are becoming increasingly anxious about the …

Continue Reading about Why Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax Stocks Are Falling Today →

When will the pandemic be over and life return to normal? Moderna ( NASDAQ:MRNA ) CEO Stéphane Bancel thinks it could happen in 2022. In an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung , Bancel expressed his view that COVID-19 vaccines could help usher in a return to normalcy in the second half of next year. People across the world will cheer if Bancel's prediction comes true. However, Moderna's shareholders might not join in the celebration. Here's why the vaccine stock could plunge if Bancel is right that the pandemic will be over next year. Image source: Getty Images. The probability of declining sales Moderna expects to rake in $20 billion in sales for its COVID-19 vaccine this year. It could generate similar sales in 2022. But if the pandemic ends in the second half of next year, there's a high probability of declining sales beginning in 2023. For one thing, Moderna's fortunes thus far have relied upon two doses being given in initial vaccinations. …

Continue Reading about Moderna CEO Predicts Pandemic Could End in 2022: Here’s Why the Stock Could Plunge If He’s Right →

Some people might have thought Moderna 's ( NASDAQ:MRNA ) stock market gains were over when the company pocketed an Emergency Use Authorization for its coronavirus vaccine in December. After all, the stock advanced 434% in 2020. But investors continued rewarding Moderna -- for generating billions of dollars in vaccine revenue, for turning a profit, and for working on new programs in the coronavirus vaccine space. As a result, the stock soared 363% from the start of the year to a high of more than $480 a share in August. Moderna has since pared gains. The stock now trades at around $400. But an increase can happen quickly for this dynamic biotech stock. So now, many investors are wondering: Will Moderna shares reach $500 in the near term? Let's take a closer look. Image source: Getty Images. Looking a little pricey Moderna may seem to be getting a little pricey. If we look at biotechnology company stock prices, it is second only to Regeneron . That company trades for …

Continue Reading about Will Moderna Stock Reach $500? →