Latest from Nick Esposito

• Aug 23, 2023

  India imposes a 40% export duty on onions

  

  From the BBC World Service: India, the world’s largest onion exporter, has imposed a 40% export duty on onions. It’s an attempt to improve domestic availability and rein in soaring food price inflation. Israel’s political lurch to the right and its controversial plans to overhaul the justice system could be starting to have a direct impact on its population, with one in three Israelis now thinking of emigrating. India could make history if its third lunar mission successfully touches down near the moon’s south pole.

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• Aug 22, 2023

  Could there be an AI bubble?

  

  Investors are piling money on new generative AI firms. How much is too much? Plus, the state of the Microsoft Activision acquisition in the U.K.

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• Aug 22, 2023

  At AMC, no more “preferred” stocks

  

  The movie theater chain is consolidating their stocks in an unusual move that could dilute value but help with raising revenue. Plus, semiconductor chips.

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• Aug 22, 2023

  Will Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal finally get done?

  

  From the BBC World Service: Microsoft has filed changes to its proposed takeover video game maker, Activision Blizzard, in an attempt to win over the U.K. competition regulator, which previously blocked the $69 billion deal. The BRICS group of developing economies — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — are meeting in Johannesburg for their annual summit. Expanding membership and de-dollarization are both high on the agenda. Jakarta is the world’s most polluted city; the air quality is so bad, that from today, thousands of civil servants will work from home for the next two months.

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• Aug 21, 2023

  What’s with unlimited PTO?

  

  Some workers love it, but others are taking less time off than they used to. Plus, the BRICS summit will tackle expansion and weaning off the U.S. dollar.

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• Aug 21, 2023

  Sustainable urban solutions

  

  Could they help San Francisco, where pandemic recovery has been slow? Plus, global wealth inequality and the 2023 World Cup.

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• Aug 21, 2023

  China cuts key interest rate as recovery falters

  

  From the BBC World Service: China’s economy hasn’t bounced back from the pandemic and now its central bank is stepping in, cutting one of its key interest rates for the second time in three months. Protests over economic hardship in Syria’s southern province of Sweida are continuing and there are calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. As the most successful Women’s World Cup finishes, the infrastructure and facilities for the women’s game lags behind the enthusiasm.

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• Aug 18, 2023

  Who wants to work in tourism?

  

  In Croatia, not enough Croatians. Migrants from Asia are picking up the slack. Plus, who has the most debt in the world?

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• Aug 18, 2023

  The business of college soccer

  

  Title IX and big spending on college sports are two reasons so many female soccer players came up through a U.S. university. That’s had an impact on this year’s World Cup. Plus, home buying loans and Chinese real estate.

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• Aug 18, 2023

  Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection

  

  From the BBC World Service: Chinese property giant Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. This allows the company, which is swimming in debt, to safeguard its assets in the U.S. The Women’s World Cup soccer tournament has been the most watched in history, giving a huge boost to hospitality spending. Tourism is Croatia’s largest industry and increasingly tourists are being served by workers who’ve travelled thousands of miles themselves, as businesses turn to Asia to solve staff shortages.

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