India invites private firms to run and modernize railways
Jul 02, 2020 23:55 pm UTC| Economy
India is now inviting bids for private firms to invest $39.8 million in running trains along 109 routes to introduce modern technology and boost its virus-hit economy. The private players will have to pay a percentage...
Japan to shut down aging coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions
Jul 02, 2020 23:50 pm UTC| Economy
Japan will close about 100 of its aging coal-fired and inefficient power plants by fiscal 2030 to reduce carbon emissions and shift toward renewable energy. Industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama is expected to announce the...
Recession will hit job-poor parts of Western Sydney very hard
Jul 02, 2020 15:55 pm UTC| Economy
This is the second of three articles based on newly released research on the impacts of a lack of local jobs on the rapidly growing Western Sydney region. After 2016 but before COVID-19, it should be said Western...
Why Vladimir Putin's tax hike for the rich won't bother Russia's oligarchs
Jul 02, 2020 15:44 pm UTC| Economy
Just a couple of days before Russians began voting in a constitutional referendum in late June that is likely to pave the way for Vladimir Putin to stay on as president until 2036, the government announced a tax rise for...
Behavioural science can help make the UK's track and trace app a success – here's how
Jul 02, 2020 15:30 pm UTC| Economy
Originally planned to roll out in May, the UKs track and trace app has now been delayed until winter. Part of the governments wider test, track and trace strategy, the app uses Bluetooth on smartphones to see who infected...
Technology is a powerful determinant of change, but labour can shape its direction
Jul 02, 2020 15:12 pm UTC| Economy Insights & Views
Technology is a product of human labour. The working class and society can therefore shape its direction. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), long-term technological change has created more employment...
South African banks need to do more to ensure financial inclusion
Jul 02, 2020 15:11 pm UTC| Economy Fintech
An analysis of financial inclusion in South Africa shows that affordability limits poor households access to formal financial services. In our study, which looked at peoples use of financial goods and services between 2008...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects