Author: Press Room

If there’s one thing that makes certain companies stand out, it’s a competitive moat. A well-known and popular brand, a patented drug, a popular drink, software applications used in workplaces, or a service that’s so widely embedded the number of users keeps growing — whatever it is, advantages like these hold huge appeal for investors. They help deter the competition and they generally mean strong pricing power, both of which safeguard the companies’ revenues. Customers will pay up rather than do without, and will be reluctant to face the cost, upheaval and risk of switching to a new provider.  The London…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The Crown Estate is set to confirm a deal with Australian developer Lendlease to buy a stake in the site around London’s Euston station, as part of a joint venture for six projects expected to be worth £22bn once completed.The King’s property company plans to take a 50 per cent stake in the new joint venture with Lendlease, which outlined the details in an announcement to the Australian stock exchange.The government appointed Lendlease as “master development partner” for the development of the…

Also hurt in the attack was Henry Reese, co-founder of Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, a nonprofit that helps exiled writers. He was conducting the talk with Rushdie that morning. Schmidt said Matar was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the second degree attempted murder charge stemming from the attack against Rushdie and seven years for a second degree assault charged for the stabbing of Reese. The sentences will run concurrently. Rushdie, an atheist born into a Muslim Kashmiri family in India, was stabbed with a knife multiple times in the head, neck, torso and left hand. The attack blinded…

Washington, DC – Three days, three countries, hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and a geopolitical shift in the United States’s approach to the region: Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East has been eventful. This week, the United States president visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in the first planned trip of his second presidency, after attending Pope Francis’s funeral last month. Trump was visibly gleeful throughout the trip as he secured investments, criticised domestic political rivals and heaped praise on Gulf leaders. The word “historic” was used more than a few times by US…

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., recently claimed that widely-criticized negotiations with Qatar over a $400 million Air Force One temporary replacement gift began under the Biden administration – not after President Donald Trump took office.”What no one is talking about is [that] this same 747 has been in negotiations for a year,” Mullin said on CNN Wednesday.”The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations. It didn’t start underneath the Trump administration – why? Because we need a back-up for Air Force One.”Mullin said there is no current backup plane for Air Force One, which is about 40 years old.…

Nearly a dozen inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail on Friday morning, and one has been apprehended, according to authorities.Kirkpatrick said when notified, she immediately offered any and all resources to the sheriff.Many of the inmates are considered violent offenders, with some facing charges including murder.New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said her agency was notified at 10:30 a.m. that there were 11 escapees from the sheriff’s prison. AG CONCLUDES CHARGES IN GANG-RELATED NEVADA PRISON BRAWL THAT LEFT 3 INMATES DEAD”This is an urgent and a serious situation,” she said during a news conference. “Please be mindful. We know…

By Staff The Canadian Press Posted May 16, 2025 3:49 pm 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A Quebec labour tribunal has begun hearing a case against Amazon over the e-commerce giant’s closure in January of seven warehouses in the province. Some 1,700 employees lost their jobs following Amazon’s sudden termination of its Quebec warehouse operations months after workers at a Montreal-area facility unionized with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. In a news release, the…

A lawyer representing Sean “Diddy” Combs in the hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial has sought to undercut the claim of the prosecution’s star witness that Combs raped her in 2018.During a second day cross-examining Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura in Manhattan federal court, a defence lawyer showed jurors text messages suggesting she may have had consensual sex with Combs a month after the alleged rape.The 38-year-old Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known as Cassie, previously told jurors that Combs coerced and blackmailed her into taking part in days-long, drug-fuelled sex parties he called “Freak Offs” which are central to the…

Key PointsUnitedHealth Group saw some of its insiders step in and purchase declining shares this week.Kristen Gil, a director at the firm, bought 3,700 shares worth roughly $1 million on Thursday.Shares of UnitedHealth plunged nearly 11% to $274.35 on Thursday following a report in The Wall Street Journal that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud. UnitedHealth Group , whose stock has been in a tailspin amid a tumultuous period for the health-care giant, saw some of its insiders step in and purchase declining shares this week. Kristen Gil, a director at the firm, bought 3,700…

SEEKING NEW MARKETS Indonesian textile manufacturers rely heavily on the US market, with exports valued at US$4.6 billion last year. But the Indonesian Textile Association warned that demand could drop by as much as 30 per cent after the US announced steep tariffs to address trade imbalances.  The industry is now urgently seeking out new markets. “Southeast Asia and its surrounding regions are areas with very high market potential,” said Danang Girindrawardana, the association’s executive director.  “We haven’t tapped into them optimally because Indonesia has become accustomed to or become spoilt by existing markets. We have become complacent and not…