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☆ Roald Dahl’s Children’s Books Changed to Make Them More Inclusive
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( David Luhnow | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Cloud Men in Roald Dahl’s book ‘James and the Giant Peach’ were changed to Cloud People in the latest edition. LONDON—The British publisher of Roald Dahl ’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and other children’s books has made hundreds of changes to their texts—altering passages that refer to body weight, race and gender—in an effort to make them more acceptable to contemporary readers. The modifications drew criticism from Britain’s Conservative government as well as some high-profile authors and free-speech advocates. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ’s spokesman said Monday that “you should not gobblefunk around with words,” using a word coined by Mr. Dahl and used in his book “BFG” that means roughly “to tinker.”

☆ Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine but Is Struggling to Advance, U.K. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Isabel Coles | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.K. said Russia has deployed nearly its entire military in Ukraine, increasing pressure along the front line in the east of the country but falling short of a breakthrough. Ukrainian officials have warned of a renewed Russian onslaught to coincide with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion next week. But some Western officials say the offensive is unlikely to be one single event. Russian forces have redoubled attacks along the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, eking out gains after a series of reversals last year.

☆ David Carrick, Former London Police Officer, Gets At Least 30 Years in Prison for Rape
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters gathered earlier this week outside Southwark Crown Court in London during the sentencing of former police officer David Carrick. LONDON—Former British police officer David Carrick on Tuesday was sentenced to at least 30 years in jail after he was found guilty of committing a series of rapes over the last two decades as an active policeman, raising difficult questions over how London’s Metropolitan Police force vets its officers. Mr. Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 charges relating to 12 victims between 2003 and 2020. The admissions made him one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said during sentencing that Mr. Carrick, 48, felt untouchable because of his job and had caused “irretrievable devastation” in the lives of the women he raped and abused.

☆ The U.K.’s Government-Run Healthcare Service Is in Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( David Luhnow | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For more than a decade, the British government has run its National Health Service, the world’s largest government-run healthcare system, on a tight budget. The NHS prided itself on being one of the leanest healthcare systems in the developed world, spending less per head on average than its large European neighbors—and far less than the U.S.Now the state-funded service is falling apart. People who suffer heart attacks or strokes wait more than 1½ hours on average for an ambulance. A record 7.1 million people in England—more than one in 10 people—are stuck on waiting lists for nonemergency hospital treatment like hip replacements. The NHS on Monday faced the biggest strike in its history, with thousands of paramedics and nurses walking out over pay.

☆ The U.K.’s Healthcare Crisis Sounds an Alarm for Aging Countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( David Luhnow | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Scottish Law on Gender Recognition Blocked by U.K. Government
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said the law ‘would have a significant impact’ on equalities rules in other parts of the U.K. The U.K. government on Monday blocked a law voted by Scotland’s parliament on gender recognition, the first time that the London-based government has stopped a Scottish law from passing, in a move that will deepen divisions between Scottish nationalists and the U.K. The controversial Scottish law, passed in November, makes it easier for transgender people to get official government recognition of their acquired gender by removing any need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and lowering the age from 18 to 16.

☆ International stock trade could be in the first inning as investors seek alternatives to U.S. tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"FANG" and other big cap tech have faded as favorite trades, but i nvesting in foreign stocks as a way to generate better returns is just beginning. The outperformance in foreign markets has not gone unnoticed by U.S. investors, bruised by the 19.4% decline in the S & P 500 last year. Also, investors in foreign stocks will benefit if their local currencies gain against the dollar. Investors are now monitoring foreign markets much more and focusing on what's happening in currency pairs, like dollar/yen. "I think a lot of investors will play Europe stocks right out of the gate," he said.

☆ Prince Harry’s Book ‘Spare’ Goes On Sale, Detailing Deep Royal Rift
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Prince Harry ’s memoir, officially published Tuesday, lays bare the scale of the family split in the House of Windsor, in an account that royal commentators say could do lasting damage to both the prince and the world’s most famous royal institution. The book, titled “Spare,” inadvertently went on sale in Spain last week, ahead of its official launch date. Since then, much of the British press has already published key details from it about how King Charles ‘s younger son fell out of love with royal life as well as allegations of dysfunction at the heart of the institution often referred to as “the Firm.”

☆ Prince Harry’s Memoir ‘Spare’ Is Released, Detailing Deep Royal Rift
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Prince Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare,’ which went on sale in London on Tuesday, details a raft of allegations about life in the royal family. LONDON— Prince Harry ‘s memoir, officially published Tuesday, lays bare the scale of a deep family split in the House of Windsor, in an account that royal commentators say could do lasting damage to both the prince and the world’s most famous royal institution. The book, titled “Spare,” inadvertently went on sale in Spain last week, ahead of its official launch date. Since then, much of the British press has already published key details from it about how King Charles’s youngest son fell out of love with royal life as well as allegations of dysfunction at the heart of the institution often referred to as “the Firm.”

☆ A China ‘spending boom?’ Your guide to emerging market investing in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Fred Imbert | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"We're going to have a spending boom in China, at least in the first half of the year," said Mehran Nakhjavani, emerging market strategist at MRB Partners. How to play emerging markets in 2023 Regardless, there are several ways for investors to get exposure to emerging markets. Perhaps the easiest way is by investing in the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM). Another vehicle through which to play emerging markets is the First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDex ETF (FEMS) . The fund is the best-performing emerging markets ETF this year, according to Morningstar, with a year-to-date return of just over 1%.

☆ Reuters pictures of the year 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Top NewsReuters pictures of the year 2022PostedRussia's war against Ukraine, Argentina wins the World Cup, extreme weather around the globe and more of our best photography from 2022. Produced by David Lucas

☆ Four Migrants Dead as Overcrowded Boat Starts to Sink Crossing English Channel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—At least four people died and more than 40 were rescued after a small boat crowded with migrants began to sink in the frigid waters of the English Channel, prompting the U.K. and French governments to launch a joint rescue mission. The deadly incident came a day after the U.K. government outlined a new plan to try to stop a surge in migrants crossing the channel on small boats, a wave of illegal immigration that has overwhelmed the British asylum system.

☆ U.S. Diplomat’s Wife Gets Suspended Sentence for U.K. Car-Crash Death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A justice, watched by the victim’s family, sentenced Anne Sacoolas on Thursday in an artist’s rendition of the court hearing in London. A British court sentenced the wife of a U.S. diplomat to a suspended prison sentence Thursday for causing death by dangerous driving after she was involved in a 2019 car crash that killed a 19-year-old motorcyclist and fled the country. Harry Dunn died after a car driven by Anne Sacoolas , who was mistakenly going down the wrong side of the road, collided head on with his motorcycle near her husband’s workplace, an air force base in central England that is used for communications by the U.S. military.

☆ Plant milks or dairy: What's better for you and planet Earth?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The advertisement featuring a pearly white, cow’s milk mustache on a smiling face sends a message often repeated at home: Dairy milk is good for you. Fat, sodium and cholesterol: Compared to dietary cholesterol in whole dairy, most plant milks are good choices — plant foods never have dietary cholesterol, Gardner said. Sodium levels are relatively equal between plant milks and dairy at about 100 milligrams of sodium. “No need to fear the fat of most plant-based milks — unsaturated fats are considered healthful in the modest quantities found in plant-based milks,” Gardner said. Plant milks have no such advantage, and this is where nutrition can stumble, Gardner said.

☆ U.K. Sees Record Numbers of Migrants Crossing English Channel in Small Boats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( David Luhnow | Joanna Sugden | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—Britain is grappling with a surge in migrants crossing the English Channel by boat that is overwhelming the country’s asylum system and posing a challenge for Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Migrants from Africa have long undertaken perilous sea voyages across the Mediterranean to get to southern Europe. But such trips across the channel, which separates the U.K. from continental Europe, are relatively new and have increased rapidly.

☆ EXCLUSIVE KKR raises $6 bln for biggest Asia infrastructure fund -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HOTBED FOR DEALSLike the debut infrastructure fund that made more than a dozen investments, KKR's latest one will target renewables, telecom towers, power, utilities and transportation infrastructure, among others, the sources said. This year alone, funds backed by the likes of KKR, Macquarie, infrastructure investors DigitalBridge (DBRG.N) and Stonepeak have struck deals for tens of thousands of telecom towers in the Philippines. Earlier this month, a top executive at Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Malaysia's largest asset manager, told Reuters that it plans to add infrastructure assets into its portfolio from 2023. Last year, 19 Asia Pacific-focused infrastructure funds raised a total of $10.3 billion, Preqin data showed. Last month, Neil Arora, a veteran infrastructure dealmaker from Macquarie, joined KKR as the head of its energy transition team for Asia Pacific.

☆ Rishi Sunak Becomes U.K. Prime Minister Amid Growing Economic and Political Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Rishi Sunak , a former hedge-fund manager and U.K. Treasury chief, formally became Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday after he was appointed by King Charles III , vowing to steer the U.K. through a period of growing political and economic troubles. In his first speech as prime minister, Mr. Sunak warned of a “profound economic crisis” facing the country, which is suffering from stagflation and has been plunged recently into deeper political uncertainty with three different prime ministers in seven weeks.

☆ Watch: The Fast Rise of Rishi Sunak, Britain’s New Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Watch: A Timeline of Liz Truss’s 45 Days as U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss became the shortest-serving U.K. prime minister and the first since Winston Churchill to serve two monarchs when she resigned after just 45 days in power. WSJ’s David Luhnow explains how her premiership came crashing down. Photo illustration: Adele Morgan

☆ Rishi Sunak Becomes U.K. Prime Minister Amid Economic, Political Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON— Rishi Sunak , a former hedge-fund manager and U.K. Treasury chief, formally became Britain’s prime minister on Tuesday after he was appointed by King Charles III , vowing to steer the U.K. through a period of growing political and economic troubles. In his first speech as prime minister, Mr. Sunak warned of a “profound economic crisis” facing the country, which is suffering from stagflation and has recently plunged into deeper political uncertainty with three different prime ministers in seven weeks.

☆ Rishi Sunak: U.K. Faces a ‘Profound Economic Challenge’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Who Is Rishi Sunak, Front-Runner to Become Britain’s Next Prime Minister?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( David Luhnow | Max Colchester | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Rishi Sunak’s economic plans are seen as more pragmatic and less ideological than those of former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss. In early September, Rishi Sunak narrowly lost a race to lead the Conservative Party and become prime minister. The person he lost to, Liz Truss , went on to have a tumultuous premiership and was forced to resign, becoming the shortest serving British prime minister in history and paving the way for a new leadership contest. Mr. Sunak’s rise to the top of British politics is one of the more spectacular “I told you so” stories in modern politics. To do that, she promised sweeping tax cuts, along with new spending, that she claimed would boost economic growth without damaging public finances.

☆ Watch: China’s Ex-Leader Hu Jintao Escorted Out of Party Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Liz Truss Brought Libertarians to Power in the U.K. and Quickly Out Again
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Max Colchester | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON—A few days after Liz Truss first was elected to Britain’s parliament in 2010, she visited the Institute of Economic Affairs, a libertarian think tank in a cramped Georgian house a stone’s throw from Parliament in central London. There she met an old college friend, Mark Littlewood , director general of the IEA, and pitched an idea. “Mark, we are going to set up a caucus of free-market MPs,” Mr. Littlewood recalls her saying.

LONDON—U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss ’s resignation is a stark reminder of how high inflation and rising interest rates have changed the game for politicians and narrowed their room to maneuver. For the past decade, low inflation and ultralow interest rates gave governments around the world room to spend more and pile on debt without alarming investors. Those days are over.

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