Uptrends 
Cities around the world from Bangkok to Detroit are fading from international flight networks as the post-Covid travel boom funnels traffic into more traditional hubs. Across Southeast Asia, pre-pandemic links with Europe have all but vanished as Philippine Airlines Inc., Garuda Indonesia and Thai Airways International Pcl cut flights. Manila and Jakarta, for example, have … Read more
Stark Bank, one of the few Latin America startups to receive funding from Jeff Bezos’ family office, is generating profits from its business of helping companies handle payments, while leaving cash raised from its funding rounds nearly untouched. The Sao Paulo-based company handled 155 billion reais ($31 billion) of payments in 2023, a three-fold jump … Read more
The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny vowed on Monday to continue his fight against the Kremlin, while authorities denied his mother access to a morgue where his body is believed to be held after his death last week in an Arctic penal colony. With her voice cracking at times in a video posted on social … Read more
At the height of the global pandemic, as Dubai faced an exodus of expatriates and mounting competition from neighboring business hubs, the government opened up. That decision is now helping the city dodge the commercial real estate crisis rippling across the globe. The United Arab Emirates — of which Dubai is a part — started to break … Read more
This week’s $26 billion combination of two Texas oil companies is the latest in a series of deals that’s ushering in the era of Big Shale. Wall Street, which eyed the sector with skepticism for most of the last decade, appears to be all in. Diamondback Energy Inc.’s takeover of Endeavor Energy Resources LP announced … Read more
Vaccines that protect against severe illness, death and lingering long Covid symptoms from a coronavirus infection were linked to small increases in neurological, blood, and heart-related conditions in the largest global vaccine safety study to date. The rare events — identified early in the pandemic — included a higher risk of heart-related inflammation from mRNA shots made by Pfizer Inc., BioNTech SE, and … Read more
Foreign businesses’ direct investment into China last year increased by the lowest amount since the early 1990s, underscoring challenges for the nation as Beijing seeks more overseas funds to help its economy. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments stood at $33 billion last year, according to data from the State Administration of … Read more
Biologist Max Jamilly was in a pub with a friend when he hit upon the idea for his next business. Jamilly and his friend Ed Steele, both meat-eaters who were trying to cut down on their carbon footprint, had ordered a plant-based meat patty off the menu. They soon regretted it. “It didn’t sizzle … Read more
As a 29-year-old on his second startup, Brice Klein has perfected the working-until-late routine, often leaving the office at 8 p.m. or later. But as he’ll willingly tell you, that demanding schedule often led to unpleasant compromises. Chief among them was food. Klein, an early employee at a vertical-farm company aiming to revolutionize produce, found … Read more
Step aside, Na’vi version of Sigourney Weaver: A new blue avatar is becoming famous. If you apply to one of several large corporations today, you might see a blue guy that looks like the Walmart version of Disney’s wide-eyed style of animation. No, it’s not a company mascot; it’s actually part of your evaluation. The … Read more