Author: Press Room

This type of spending is of concern, according to Wannaphong from Ramkhamhaeng University. The cost of the state welfare program could fund an entire national semiconductor industry, he argued. “The current government has paid about 20 per cent of the population for about five years. And there’s no evidence so far that this policy works, but they’re going to continue it,” he told CNA. “If you look at the broad theme of the policy, they’re going to deal with the ageing society, the poor and increase the welfare state. So overall, there’s nothing wrong with that. But there are alternative…

In Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Black people had two men at the forefront of racial equality, justice, and the civil rights movement. However, during their lifetime, both men only met each other face-to-face once and didn’t speak much to each other. Although both men fought for the same cause, their methods were different. While Dr. Luther King was more of an advocate of Integrationism who preached peaceful dialogue as the best form of advocacy, Malcolm X was a Black Nationalist activist who encouraged African Americans to fight racial oppression with whatever means – and weapons. Both men criticized…

Broken cease-fireFor the past three days, a Palestinian group and the Israeli military have been exchanging rocket fire and missile attacks across the Israel-Gaza border. It’s the most intense burst of violence in months. To help you understand what’s going on, my colleague Isabel Kershner, a Times correspondent in Jerusalem, is answering four questions in today’s newsletter. — David Leonhardt1. How did it start?Nearly three months ago, Khader Adnan — a Palestinian prisoner in Israel and a leader of an armed Palestinian group called Islamic Jihad — began a hunger strike to protest his detention. Adnan, who was 45, died…

President Biden’s attempt to deal efficiently with a new surge of migration following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions has focused new attention on a severe shortage of judges, the result of longstanding neglect that has overwhelmed the immigration court system with a backlog of more than two million cases.The court system is riddled with yearslong delays and low morale as a work force of about 650 judges struggles to keep up with the volume of immigration cases, leaving undocumented immigrants who have long waited in the United States in limbo.The bottleneck shows how the challenges of dealing with…

Inflation slowed for a 10th straight month in April, a closely watched report on Wednesday showed, good news for American families struggling under the burden of higher costs and for policymakers in Washington as they try to wrangle rapid price increases.The Consumer Price Index climbed 4.9 percent in April from a year earlier, less than the 5 percent that economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected. Inflation has come down notably from a peak just above 9 percent last summer, though it has remained far higher than the 2 percent annual gains that were normal before the pandemic.Cheaper prices for…

Alphaville has already highlighted how much AI mania has contributed to the US equity market’s 2023 gains. SocGen is now arguing that even those estimates underplay the impact.The French bank’s analysts find that without the gains of stocks that are possible AI winners, the S&P 500 would now be down 2 per cent this year, rather than up 8 per cent. It’s not immediately clear from the note how SocGen classifies “AI Boom stocks”, but we’re guessing it includes the likes of Nvidia, Microsoft, SalesForce, and Alphabet. Here’s SocGen’s Manish Kabra, with our emphasis: The AI boom and hype is…

One thing to start: Shareholders in British healthcare start-up Babylon are set to be wiped out as the company’s main lender is poised to take control of the business.Welcome to Due Diligence, your briefing on dealmaking, private equity and corporate finance. This article is an on-site version of the newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent to your inbox every Tuesday to Friday. Get in touch with us anytime: Due.Diligence@ft.comIn today’s newsletterSilver Lake and Bain’s dealmaking duelSoftBank gives up on being the next BerkshireAdani goes on the defence The Silver Lake and Bain Capital deal drama in GermanySilver Lake,…

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission Republican leader at the US Securities and Exchange Commission said Europe’s legislation to regulate cryptocurrency could be a model as the country grapples with how to write rules for the industry.SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also nicknamed “Crypto Mom,” spoke at a Financial Times live event this week.“MiCA can serve as a model for us,” Peirce said.European Union lawmakers voted in April to pass the Markets in Crypto Assets law (or MiCA). MiCA establishes rules for crypto aimed to ensure that crypto transfers can always be traced and for suspicious transactions to be blocked. The law would cover transactions…

A lot went wrong during the coronavirus pandemic as the virus tore through a polarized nation and public health leaders, policymakers and elected officials struggled to respond.Chronic underinvestment in public health at the federal, state and local levels only made things worse. All told, more than 1.1 million people have died of Covid-19 in the United States, and more than 1,000 are still dying each week.More than three years after the Trump administration declared the virus a public health emergency in January 2020, the government’s pandemic response is now entering a new phase. On Thursday, the Biden administration will allow…

Market Movers rounded up the best reactions from investors and analysts on Twilio after its earnings results were released Tuesday after the bell. The experts, including Jim Cramer , discussed the software stock as shares plunged 12% Wednesday. The company’s first-quarter report beat expectations but, Twilio also announced its revenue forecast for the second quarter, which came in lighter than expected. It anticipates between $980 million and $990 million in revenue, while analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting $1.05 billion in revenue. Additionally, KeyBanc downgraded Twilio to sector weight from overweight, adding it sees a deceleration in the company’s business outlook.