A Filipino taxi driver who attempted to overcharge a member of K-pop group TXT has been suspended from operating, after the incident sparked backlash both in South Korea and the Philippines. According to a report aired on Monday on JTBC’s Chief Investigator, TXT member Choi Soo-bin, known mononymously as Soobin, was targeted in a taxi fare scam while travelling in Cebu, a popular tourist destinati...
A Filipino taxi driver who attempted to overcharge a member of K-pop group TXT has been suspended from operating, after the incident sparked backlash both in South Korea and the Philippines. According to a report aired on Monday on JTBC’s Chief Investigator, TXT member Choi Soo-bin, known mononymously as Soobin, was targeted in a taxi fare scam while travelling in Cebu, a popular tourist destination in the Philippines. The incident was originally revealed on Wednesday through the group’s...
anamejia18/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Ecopetrol ( EC ) said late Monday its board ousted CEO Ricardo Roa after Colombian prosecutors charged him with alleged influence peddling. The attorney general’s office filed charges against Roa last month for his alleged involvement in an influence peddling scheme linked to the purchase of a luxury Bogotá apartment from an oil executive in 2022, and ...
anamejia18/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Ecopetrol ( EC ) said late Monday its board ousted CEO Ricardo Roa after Colombian prosecutors charged him with alleged influence peddling. The attorney general’s office filed charges against Roa last month for his alleged involvement in an influence peddling scheme linked to the purchase of a luxury Bogotá apartment from an oil executive in 2022, and separate charges related to violating campaign spending limits as head of Gustavo Petro's successful 2022 presidential campaign could happen later this month. Roa will take a leave of absence until June 28, to be replaced by current COO Juan Carlos Hurtado on an interim basis; by then, Colombians would have elected a new president, who will take office in August and likely appoint new leadership to the state-run company. The move follows pressure from Colombia's largest oil workers union, which threatened to strike unless Ecopetrol's ( EC ) board dismissed Roa. Roa has held the top job at Ecopetrol ( EC ) since April 2023, when he replaced Felipe Bayón after newly elected Petro sought to advance plans to transition Colombia away from fossil fuels. More on Ecopetrol Ecopetrol: The Rerating Story Is Over The Slow Destruction Of Colombia's Ecopetrol Ecopetrol Q4 2025 Earnings Call Presentation
Oxford Economics says Australia's economy could face its sharpest recession since the early 1990's, outside of the pandemic, if the Iran war extends and continues to disrupt supply chains. Australia economist Harry McAuley discusses the outlook on "Bloomberg: The Asia Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
Oxford Economics says Australia's economy could face its sharpest recession since the early 1990's, outside of the pandemic, if the Iran war extends and continues to disrupt supply chains. Australia economist Harry McAuley discusses the outlook on "Bloomberg: The Asia Trade." (Source: Bloomberg)
China’s electric-arc furnace steelmakers boosted weekly capacity utilization to the highest in more than two years, as the greener production method becomes more competitive. The average output of 94 independent EAF mills surveyed by consultancy Mysteel was equivalent to more than 61% of capacity in the week ended April 2. That’s the highest since January 2024 and breaks a trend whereby production...
China’s electric-arc furnace steelmakers boosted weekly capacity utilization to the highest in more than two years, as the greener production method becomes more competitive. The average output of 94 independent EAF mills surveyed by consultancy Mysteel was equivalent to more than 61% of capacity in the week ended April 2. That’s the highest since January 2024 and breaks a trend whereby production has struggled to top the 60% threshold. “The root cause is that electric furnaces are becoming profitable again,” said Steven Yu, a researcher at Mysteel. Mills have been able to ramp up output relatively quickly to meet rising demand and fill gaps left by a steady drawdown in inventories, he added. Electric-arc furnaces are fed with recycled scrap, rather than iron ore and coal, which makes them a cleaner – though more expensive – alternative to the carbon-intensive blast furnaces more commonly used to make steel. China’s mills missed a key emissions-reduction target last year due to low EAF production. Read More: China’s Green Steel Plan Set Back by Low Electric-Furnace Output The price gap between the two production methods, however, has narrowed in recent weeks. Higher raw-material costs for traditional steelmaking have reduced the difference between molten iron and scrap to about 60 yuan ($8.72) per ton from a peak of more than 100 yuan per ton, Yu said. “This means the advantage of electric furnaces is gradually returning,” he said. Futures of rebar and hot-rolled coil on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were down 0.2% and 0.3% respectively at 11:43 a.m. local time. Singapore iron ore futures fell 0.4% to $106.20 a ton, while futures on the Dalian exchange also dropped.
From a conference room atop H&M ’s headquarters in the heart of Stockholm — with its brown-toned wood and clean lines giving the space a distinctly Scandinavian feel — Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ervér speaks of reviving the one-time Swedish highflyer. What he’s up against is a credibility problem. Eight years ago, after a record quarterly sales drop, Hennes & Mauritz AB’s then CEO Karl-Johan P...
From a conference room atop H&M ’s headquarters in the heart of Stockholm — with its brown-toned wood and clean lines giving the space a distinctly Scandinavian feel — Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ervér speaks of reviving the one-time Swedish highflyer. What he’s up against is a credibility problem. Eight years ago, after a record quarterly sales drop, Hennes & Mauritz AB’s then CEO Karl-Johan Persson , a scion of its billionaire founding family, had gathered shareholders in the historic Stockholm concert hall Cirkus for its first — and only — capital markets day to reassure them that things would get better. They didn’t. Just weeks after the event — where Persson had cut a dapper figure, tie-less, in a white shirt and an Arket suit — the company dumped more bad news: roughly $4 billion in unsold garments and a 62% drop in operating profit. Now, Ervér— who took over in 2024 — is seeking once again to convince investors that the group has turned a corner. Alongside an ambitious remake, Ervér has sought to dig H&M out of one of the biggest inventory pileups in modern retail. While those efforts are bringing richer operating margins and profits, they have yet to lead to sustained sales growth, and Ervér is asking for patience. “We have begun to lay a stable foundation for future growth,” the 44-year-old Swede, a quintessential insider who’s spent his entire career at the company, said in an interview on April 1. “That can be seen in increased profitability, better cash-flow earning capacity, lower inventory levels... Over time that will lead to us seeing stronger growth. I think we are at the beginning of the journey, but it is a long-term journey.” Time is something investors are reluctant to give the company. From its 2015 peak, H&M has lost roughly half its market value, erasing tens of billions of dollars in equity. Just two years earlier, it had been Stockholm’s most-valuable listed company. H&M’s inability to stack up in the $1.9 trillion global apparel market ...
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: In Iran, escalation continues as Trump promises “decimation” by midnight. And yet (counterintuitiveness alert), defense stocks aren’t benefiting. The dollar hasn’t had as great a war as it might appear. Jamie Dimon sees cockroaches in private credit, but not systemic risk . Please vote for us in the We...
To get John Authers’ newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, sign up here . Today’s Points: In Iran, escalation continues as Trump promises “decimation” by midnight. And yet (counterintuitiveness alert), defense stocks aren’t benefiting. The dollar hasn’t had as great a war as it might appear. Jamie Dimon sees cockroaches in private credit, but not systemic risk . Please vote for us in the Webbys . AND: Some music for the spheres as astronauts go further into space than ever. King Dollar In a conflict with few winners , the dollar’s surviving hegemony stands out. The greenback has risen 2.2% since the US and Israel began their coordinated attacks on Iran. That’s consequential after the world’s reserve currency dropped more than 8% last year — but despite appearances, it’s premature to declare this a turnaround. First, the dollar’s weakness going into the war broadly aligned with Washington’s desire to boost export competitiveness. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had made a weaker dollar an explicit aim. The dollar’s uptick has been an unintended consequence, just as rising oil prices have dented the affordability drive. For now, it’s not clear that this is a paradigm shift: Second, the six-week rally followed an awful start to 2026. The dollar is up only about 0.9% year-to-date. The question is whether the recent resurgence — not surprising at a time when heightened risk aversion prompted investors to seek shelter — has enough strength to carry through the rest of the year. The wartime rally has at least put to rest any doubts about the dollar’s “safe-haven” status. Robin Brooks of the Brookings Institution illustrates this vote of confidence with a chart of foreign capital flows into Treasuries, corporate debt and equities, which are at their strongest in recent years: Regardless, Brooks maintains a bearish view of the dollar, projecting a 10% fall in trade-weighted terms this year. This isn’t about any loss of reserve currency status, but is driven by an inc...
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"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Tokyo and Sydney with Shery Ahn and Paul Allen, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
"Bloomberg: The Asia Trade" brings you everything you need to know to get ahead as the trading day begins in Asia. Bloomberg TV is live from Tokyo and Sydney with Shery Ahn and Paul Allen, getting insight and analysis from newsmakers and industry leaders on the biggest stories shaping global markets. (Source: Bloomberg)
Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt When Sam started looking into studying abroad, it didn’t take long for his phone to start ringing. At 24, he was living with his parents in a small city in the southern Indian state of Odisha and he’d been stuck in an entr...
Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt When Sam started looking into studying abroad, it didn’t take long for his phone to start ringing. At 24, he was living with his parents in a small city in the southern Indian state of Odisha and he’d been stuck in an entry-level job for four years. He hoped a master’s degree in the UK might lead to a high-flying finance job in London, or at least give him an edge when he came back home. After filling in a few forms on study abroad websites, Sam soon started receiving calls from unknown numbers. Eventually, he answered one. The person on the phone was an education agent – a recruiter who helps students apply to foreign universities – pitching his services. The offer sounded appealing. The agency would help Sam decide which universities to apply to, advising on the most suitable courses and where he had the best chance of admission. They would help draft his application, and if he got in, assist with immigration. They would do all of this for free. “I was sceptical,” said Sam. “Like, why would you do that?” Continue reading...
With the UAE under fire from Iranian missies, wealthy investors are turning to Italy’s flat-tax haven Just over a month ago, Dubai was the obvious destination for wealthy Britons in search of a new home. Few cities allow you to earn vast sums tax-free and spend them across any number of luxury hotels, restaurants and shops. But as the United Arab Emirates comes under Iranian fire , Dubai’s reputat...
With the UAE under fire from Iranian missies, wealthy investors are turning to Italy’s flat-tax haven Just over a month ago, Dubai was the obvious destination for wealthy Britons in search of a new home. Few cities allow you to earn vast sums tax-free and spend them across any number of luxury hotels, restaurants and shops. But as the United Arab Emirates comes under Iranian fire , Dubai’s reputation – in part created by emigrant influencers – as a haven for the global elite is eroding. Super-rich UK nationals are now looking for a route back to Europe; and Milan, the financial centre of Italy, is climbing to the top of the list. Continue reading...
He was the screenwriting colossus behind Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Showgirls and more. Now clean, ‘Hollywood’s Shakespeare’ talks about today’s scared studios, his refugee trauma – and taking acid with Hunter S Thompson Joe Eszterhas was the swaggering pitchman of 80s and 90s Hollywood; the king of the high-concept, precision-tooled blockbuster. He wrote Jagged Edge, co-scripted Flashdance , and po...
He was the screenwriting colossus behind Flashdance, Jagged Edge, Showgirls and more. Now clean, ‘Hollywood’s Shakespeare’ talks about today’s scared studios, his refugee trauma – and taking acid with Hunter S Thompson Joe Eszterhas was the swaggering pitchman of 80s and 90s Hollywood; the king of the high-concept, precision-tooled blockbuster. He wrote Jagged Edge, co-scripted Flashdance , and pocketed a then record $3m for his Basic Instinct screenplay. Writers typically skulk near the bottom of the industry food chain but Eszterhas flipped the script to make himself a boss and a brand. ABC called him a “living legend”, while Time magazine posed a breathless rhetorical question: “If Shakespeare were alive today, would his name be Joe Eszterhas?” Pride, as any hack writer will tell you, usually comes before a fall, and so it was with Eszterhas, who confused success with excess and barely got out of the business alive. “The coke and the booze,” he says, remembering. “Those weren’t helping my creativity, they were holding it back.” His best years in Hollywood were conversely his worst. Continue reading...
When Zac Brettler jumped to his death in London, the coroner recorded an open verdict, admitting: ‘I don’t know what happened.’ The acclaimed author of Say Nothing and, now, London Falling, talks about his search for answers In the summer of 2023, the American writer and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe was in London for the filming of Say Nothing, the television adaptation of his much-lauded, much...
When Zac Brettler jumped to his death in London, the coroner recorded an open verdict, admitting: ‘I don’t know what happened.’ The acclaimed author of Say Nothing and, now, London Falling, talks about his search for answers In the summer of 2023, the American writer and journalist Patrick Radden Keefe was in London for the filming of Say Nothing, the television adaptation of his much-lauded, much-awarded account of a Troubles murder. It was there, on set, that Keefe got talking to a visitor, a friend of the director, who happened to tell Keefe about friends of his, the Brettlers, a London family who had experienced something tragic, strange and terrible. Rachelle and Matthew Brettler’s 19-year-old son, Zac, had died in November 2019 when he jumped from the fifth-floor balcony of a luxury apartment overlooking the Thames. There had been no reason to believe he was suicidal – but plenty to suggest that he was very afraid. Zac had spent his last few months in the orbit of two men who believed him to be the son of a Russian oligarch, heir to a £200m legacy. Both men had been with Zac on the night he died – one had been in the apartment at the time – and gave varying accounts in police interviews. The family believed that the Met response had been full of holes – key witnesses hadn’t been formally interviewed, bloodstains on the apartment walls hadn’t been tested – and the investigation concluded in 2021 with the Crown Prosecution Service deciding there was insufficient evidence to bring charges for murder and perverting the course of justice. The inquest in 2022 ended in an open verdict. “I can’t fill in the gaps; I can’t speculate,” the coroner concluded. “I don’t know what happened.” Continue reading...
Hungary’s prime minister has conducted a systematic attack on independent media. The parallels with the US are chilling During his state of the nation address earlier this year, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, outlined a chilling vision of the country’s future. Signalling a new level of aggression in his campaign against the truth if he is returned to power in elections on 12 April, Orbán ...
Hungary’s prime minister has conducted a systematic attack on independent media. The parallels with the US are chilling During his state of the nation address earlier this year, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, outlined a chilling vision of the country’s future. Signalling a new level of aggression in his campaign against the truth if he is returned to power in elections on 12 April, Orbán vowed to purge the country of “bought journalists” and “fake civil society organisations”. Media repression isn’t just a Hungarian problem. According to the V-Dem Institute in Sweden, a leading democracy monitor , it is the most commonly used weapon in the authoritarian arsenal. Strikingly, its latest report finds that US democracy is now at its worst level since the 1960s, marked by a sharp decline in media freedom. Amrit Singh is professor of practice and founding faculty director of the Rule of Law Lab at NYU School of Law Continue reading...
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kyoshino/E+ via Getty Images 8:30 AM Durable Goods Orders Durable goods orders are new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for factory hard goods. Forecasters see a drop in aircraft orders leading to a 0.2 percent decline in total durable goods orders with an uptick of 0.7% in orders ex-transportation. Non-defense capital goods orders are also seen up by 0.3 percent, with AI-related capex le...
kyoshino/E+ via Getty Images 8:30 AM Durable Goods Orders Durable goods orders are new orders placed with domestic manufacturers for factory hard goods. Forecasters see a drop in aircraft orders leading to a 0.2 percent decline in total durable goods orders with an uptick of 0.7% in orders ex-transportation. Non-defense capital goods orders are also seen up by 0.3 percent, with AI-related capex leading the way. 12:35 PM Austan Goolsbee Speaks Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee participates in a moderated conversation and Q&A on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Detroit Economic Club. 1:00 PM 3-Yr Note Auction Treasury notes are sold at regularly scheduled public auctions. The competitive bids at these auctions determine the interest rate paid on each Treasury note issue. 3:00 PM Consumer Credit The dollar value of consumer installment credit outstanding. Changes in consumer credit indicate the state of consumer finances and portend future spending patterns. The consensus sees credit up by a moderate $12 billion for February after rising $8.1 billion in January. 5:50 PM Philip Jefferson Speaks Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson speaks on the economic outlook and the labor market before the University of Detroit Mercy College of Business Administration Charlton Center for Responsible Investing Speaker Series. More on U.S. Markets Weekly Market Pulse: Same As It Ever Was? Treasury Yields Snapshot: April 2, 2026 CDT Insider Sentiment March 2026: The Probability Race And Barbell Strategies The inflation process has shifted even as headline CPI declined – Federal Reserve Trump threatens to hit Iran ‘extremely hard’ even as war nears end; oil surges, futures dip