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☆ What it was like to pilot the supersonic Concorde jet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +28 min

It’s said that during the aircraft’s 27 years of service, there were more qualified American astronauts than there were British Airways Concorde pilots. Supersonic flyingA photo of Concorde pilot Barbara Harmer, Concorde at the controls for a London to New York flight in 1993. Concorde: When supersonic travel was a reality 02:32 - Source: CNNThe small pool of Concorde pilots also meant everyone knew everyone. It would take him back to the day he stood at Heathrow, watching the first commercial Concorde flight take off. Future of supersonic flightAlmost two decades since Concorde’s final flight, the allure of supersonic flight hasn’t waned, with companies such as Boom Supersonic plotting plans for Concorde’s successor.

☆ Commercial Property Is Sputtering. Just Ask the ‘Real Estate King’ of Sweden.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Eliot Brown | Photographs Felix Odell For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The end of the era of free money has spread financial damage far and wide, with many worried commercial real estate will be the next shoe to drop. Just ask Ilija Batljan —one of Europe’s most indebted property tycoons.

☆ Thousands rally in Jerusalem in favor of planned judicial overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Dedi Hayun | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Right-wing demonstrators hold flags as they attend a protest calling on the Israeli government to complete its planned judicial overhaul, in Jerusalem, April 27, 2023. "The nation demands a judicial reform," demonstrators chanted. Demonstrations against the judicial overhaul plans, however, have gripped the country for weeks and have garnered large crowds in cities across the country, mostly and consecutively every Saturday night since the plans were announced. Recent polls have found the overhaul plans are deeply unpopular. "The nation demands a judicial reform," the crowd chanted in response.

☆ China doesn’t want US cars like Ford and General Motors. That’s a big problem for their futures.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

America has a problem: China — the world's largest car market — doesn't want its vehicles. In 2022, data shows Ford and General Motors' car sales in China each dropped more than 20% from the year before. My colleagues Alexa St. John and Nora Naughton break down how the future of US automakers hinges on China. Although Google founder Larry Page's flying car company Kittyhawk majorly flopped, it left us with some interesting vehicles. Hop aboard to see all the funky flying car models here.

☆ Inside India's 15,000 extravagant, abandoned mansions, built by spice and gem tycoons and left to decay
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( James Pasley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

There are more than 15,000 elaborate mansions that are mostly decaying in a small region called Chettinad in southern India. The average mansion in the region spans 40,000 to 50,000 square feet and has more than 50 rooms. Now the quiet streets are lined with dilapidated mansions that many owners can barely afford to maintain. For about a century, rich bankers and traders poured their money into erecting the biggest, most beautiful mansions they could create. The average mansion spans up to 50,000 square feet and has over 50 rooms.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes' Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to $505 billion from $353 billion when the 2022 list was announced. "Last year's rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy," Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia's billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the war began. The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool. New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

☆ ‘After the Miracle’ Review: Helen Keller, Activist
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Charlotte Gray | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Charlie Chaplin and Helen Keller in 1918 on the set of ‘Sunnyside.’The Helen Keller that America loved was on display at New York’s Palace Theatre in 1920. Keller, whose sight and hearing were destroyed by an infection when she was an infant, had become a media sensation celebrated by presidents and tycoons. Now she was being advertised as “The Most Talked of Woman in the World! Blind, deaf, and formerly dumb, in ‘The Sweetest Love Story Ever Told.’ ”The vaudeville act began with Anne Sullivan, the teacher who met Keller when the latter was 7 years old, telling the audience how she had taught the unhappy, unmanageable child to understand words by spelling them out on her hand. Keller went on to learn Braille in both English and German, graduate from Harvard, write several books, and establish a friendship with Mark Twain.

[1/2] Bottles of Campa Cola and Coca Cola are displayed at a Reliance Smart supermarket in Mumbai, India March 20, 2023. Other well known tycoons have tried to go toe-to-toe with the drinks giants, and failed, most notably Richard Branson with his Virgin Cola. The smallest bottles of Campa Cola and Coke both cost 10 rupees, while Pepsi starts from 12 rupees. Reliance did not respond to a request for comment, while Pepsi said it doesn't comment on competition as a policy. Another city store employee said 30 Campa bottles were being sold for every 100 of Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

☆ Putin tells Russia's billionaires to put patriotism before profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a forum of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in Moscow, Russia, March 16, 2023. MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin urged Russia's billionaires on Thursday to put patriotism before profit, telling them to invest at home to shore up the economy in the face of Western sanctions. Addressing Russia's business elite in person for the first time since the day he sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, Putin told them their role was not just to make money but to support society. Last month he told business leaders that ordinary Russians had no sympathy for the confiscation of their yachts and palaces. ECONOMY RESISTS SANCTIONSThe president said on Thursday that what he called an attempt to destroy Russia's economy with sanctions had failed.

☆ Chinese companies and tycoons rush to calm investors after SVB collapse causes anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which courted Chinese start-ups, has caused widespread concern in China, where a string of founders and companies rushed to appease investors by saying their exposure was insignificant or nonexistent. “As China’s first technology bank, SPD Silicon Valley Bank is committed to serving Chinese science and technology companies, and has always had sound operations in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.”It’s unclear what will happen to SVB’s ownership of the joint venture. BeiGene, one of China’s largest cancer-focused drug companies, said Monday it had more than $175 million uninsured cash deposits at SVB, which represents approximately 3.9% of its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Zai Lab, a pharmaceutical firm, announced that its cash deposits at SVB were “immaterial” at about $23 million. “We never opened an account with Silicon Valley Bank, nor placed a deposit,” he said late Sunday on his Weibo account.

☆ China Favors Chips, AI Executives Over Internet Tycoons at Top Political Meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Shen Lu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday. A number of prominent Chinese internet executives have been left out of the country’s top political meetings in Beijing this week, giving way to experts in artificial intelligence and semiconductors as Chinese leader Xi Jinping ’s priorities shift amid rising technology competition with the U.S.Pony Ma , Robin Li and William Ding , the chief executives of Chinese internet companies Tencent Holdings Ltd., Baidu Inc. and NetEase Inc. respectively, are conspicuous in their absence from this year’s list of delegates to the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a political advisory body. Also missing was Lenovo Group Ltd. CEO Yang Yuanqing .

☆ Airtel would be a complex saviour for Paytm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

An investment from tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal would deliver a timely vote of confidence in the loss-making Indian financial technology darling whose Chinese investors are exiting. Currently it only has a payments bank licence, so it can accept deposits but not lend. New shareholders might also help ease an ongoing regulatory freeze on Paytm accepting deposits from new customers. He is seeking a stake in Paytm by merging his financial services unit – Airtel Payments Bank – into Paytm’s comparable unit, and wants to buy shares in its parent too from other holders, per Bloomberg. Mittal seeks to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a stock deal and is also seeking to buy Paytm shares from other holders, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

☆ Factbox: Chinese business tycoons, executives who disappeared from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following is a list of some other high-profile Chinese executives who have abruptly gone missing from public view in recent years. Three months later, On Nov. 27, the company said Yang had resumed his duties after assisting an investigation in China. Shares and bonds related to CEFC China Energy plunged on the news, which was first reported by Chinese magazine Caixin. Chinese financial regulators in 2020 took over brokerages, trust companies and insurers linked to the group. Reporting by Brenda Goh and Xie Yu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China has U-turned on almost all major policies it put in place in the last 3 years — and it's not surprising, given the state of its economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But the country reversed some major policies in response to the abysmal GDP growth. China's GDP grew by 3% in 2022 — the worst since the chaotic Cultural Revolution ended. Most recently, after three years of pandemic lockdowns and isolation, China abruptly reversed course and abolished its zero-COVID policy — leaving the world guessing why. China's GDP grew only 3.0% in 2022 — the worst in nearly half a century since the chaotic Cultural Revolution ended. China's GDP growth is vital because it is the world's second-largest economy after the US, so it's a driving force for global investment and trade.

☆ Hong Kong: National security warning now a part of land sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Hong Kong real estate is the most expensive in the world, but it wasn’t eye watering prices that took investors by surprise this week. Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly claimed the law has restored order and stability after the city’s 2019 anti-government, pro-democracy protests. Lee said the legal provision is “an obvious thing” for Hong Kong to add to safeguard national security. “Safeguarding national security is the shared responsibility of the entire Hong Kong society,” it said. Developers and investors bidding on land sales are not normally involved in activities that violate the national security law, she said.

☆ A Yale professor suggested that Japan's old people should kill themselves in a mass suicide, and it made him a celebrity
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Yale professor said in an interview that mass suicide could solve Japan's aging population issue. Yusuke Narita, an assistant professor of economics at Yale University, has argued for the controversial solution to Japan's aging population in several public appearances and interviews, The Times reported. In an interview with an online Japanese news program in December 2021, Narita said a "pretty clear solution" would be the introduction of mass suicide, or mass "seppuku" of the elderly. Speaking to The Times, Narita said his comments have largely been taken out of context, and his focus is on the dominance of "tycoons" in Japan. He also told the newspaper that using the terms "mass suicide" and "mass seppuku" was intended only as "abstract metaphors," adding that he has since stopped using those phrases.

☆ MSCI’s Adani cut signals fat tail risks for India
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Hindenburg founder Nathan Anderson sees MSCI's move as a validation of his group’s findings of “stock parking” by Adani. The Securities and Exchange Board of India, headed by former banker Madhabi Puri Buch, acknowledged unusual price movements this month, but without naming the Adani group. But the longer the controversy drags on, there will be a fat tail risk for Adani and all his stakeholders. CONTEXT NEWSGlobal index provider MSCI on Feb. 9 cut its determined free floats for four Adani companies. It reduced those of Adani Enterprises, Adani Total Gas, Adani Transmission and ACC, and said any resulting changes will be implemented at the close of Feb. 28.

Potanin is estimated to be Russia's richest or second richest person thanks to his stake in metals giant Nornickel (GMKN.MM). Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia's ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022. Other hawkish politicians have advocated hitting remote workers and emigres with higher taxes and stripping them of their passports and Russian assets. Potanin said Moscow badly needs remote workers including computer programmers to help its battered economy recover. "No-one is convinced these measures will work," said the doctor, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

On Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced that the United Arab Emirates had pledged a staggering $30 billion in investment in the Asian country. The news came after the leaders of the two nations held talks in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, in a landmark trip that marked the first-ever state visit to the UAE by a South Korean president, according to a statement from Yoon’s office. In total, representatives from approximately 100 South Korean companies traveled with the president, according to his office. Some South Korean firms also agreed to build farms for tomatoes and strawberries in the UAE, a country that relies heavily on imports of agricultural products. Going forward, South Korea “will be a key partner in the global supply chain,” using its expertise in sectors such as semiconductors and steel-making to help stabilize supply chains, he pledged.

☆ Luxury Tycoons Leave Big Shoes to Fill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Carol Ryan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos handed the running of their companies to skilled industry executives. The billionaire founders of the world’s top luxury groups are more clannish, so investors need to watch the family. The bosses of several big luxury businesses are now in their eighth decade, including the world’s richest man, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton founder Bernard Arnault , Cartier owner Johann Rupert and the husband-and-wife team at the top of Prada , Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli . The brothers behind privately held Chanel, Alain and Gerard Wertheimer , are also in their 70s.

☆ Davos 2023: Europe, NATO to build Ukraine unity in Russian no-go zone
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"On my way from Lithuania to @Davos where I have been invited to speak. Lithuania is a very good friend of Ukraine, so you know what I will be saying. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, calling it a "special military operation" to "denazify" and demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraine, which dominated the WEF's last big meeting in May, has sent another high-level delegation. It has one panel session on mapping Russia's trajectories, but none of its speakers are Russian.

☆ 'Effective Altruism' has been touted by tech stars from Sam Bankman-Fried to Elon Musk. Here's how it started and how it's going after FTX's implosion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Effective altruism is a social movement that relies on evidence and reasoning to figure out the best ways to help others. Its supporters include major Silicon Valley tech personalities like Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, and Peter Thiel. He drove a Toyota Corolla, ate vegan food, and lived with several roommates — presumably due to his belief in a social movement called effective altruism. For many, it's brought the principles of effective altruism into question. Here's a closer look at the ideas behind effective altruism and what philosophers and followers are saying in the aftermath:

☆ Soccer giants’ new owners may get tiny returns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Streisand Neto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Financial Times reported that PSG’s Qatari owners wanted to offload 15% of the French champions. Recent deals valued the National Football League’s Denver Broncos and basketball’s Utah Jazz at over 9 times revenue, according to Forbes. Possible Man United, Liverpool and PSG owners might hope that the teams will eventually reach such valuation heights. Fenway Sports Group would consider new shareholders for Liverpool, having frequently received expressions of interest from third parties, the English Premier League club’s owners said on Nov. 7. The Financial Times reported on Nov. 28 that Paris Saint-Germain’s Qatari owners were considering selling 15% of the club.

☆ Asia's 2 richest men have multiplied their fortunes since 2020, but they're known to spend them very differently. Here's how the tycoons' wealth, businesses, and properties stack up.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are both central figures in the rapid growth of India's industries. But it's in the last three years that the pair has seen its fortunes roar to heights unprecedented in Asia. Ambani is currently the world's ninth-richest person, with a net worth of $85 billion as of December 27, per the index. He's still seen a great leap in wealth since 2020, when he was worth around $32 billion. Representatives for Ambani and Adani did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Russian oligarchs believe Putin tricked them into appearing to support the war in Ukraine, and got them all sanctioned, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian oligarchs say Putin tricked them into supporting his war in Ukraine, per The New York Times. When Putin announced the invasion, they were gathered before cameras "to tar everyone there," The Times reported. "Russian businesspeople, Russian officials, the Russian people — they saw a czar in him. He joined rows of other business moguls who were equally surprised by Putin's invasion. In the weeks and months that followed, Russian oligarchs had their assets frozen and were banned from traveling to some countries as the Ruble fell into freefall.

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