Carlos Ghosn - the Reckoning
Transparency is a knife cutting both ways as Nissan has found out the hard way when the firm's inspection team uncovered a key proposal supporting Mr. Ghosn's claims and management's own conflicts of interest
Pininvest Insights
facts – however patchy – provide guidance in investment decisions,
performance & risk exposure will be a reality check
Carlos Ghosn – the End of the Affair
With the verdict of Carlos Ghosn's associate, Greg Kelly, expected in March, stark light will be cast on a legal case, obfuscated at every turn by Nissan and by Japan's prosecutors - about time too
China Biotech - Coming of age?
To live up to the challenge and address the chronic diseases afflicting the population, biotech in China is committed for the long haul - R&D outcomes remain fickle and international license agreements get caught up in geopolitics
High stakes to ensure China's healthcare needs
Already the largest drugs market after the US, with an aging population, more demanding patients and more combative families, China remains a tumultuous market place
Afghanistan - Un ballo in maschera
Everyone knew, every U.S. agency, every NATO ally, every Afghan warlord knew of America's inevitable withdrawal, and everyone stayed masked, for the sake of appearances, out of geopolitical interest or simply out of greed...About time to draw some lessons
America in Afghanistan - the Best and the Brightest
This is the title of the 1972 account by journalist David Halberstam of the failings in America’s Vietnam War. With the dismal end of the latest U.S. venture in Afghanistan, breast-beating is once again the order of the day
China - Finance with Attitude
Turning a blind eye on awkward arrangements, the U.S. and China had struck a delicate and self-serving balance in their financial dealings. With principled postures taking hold on both sides, global finance will be bracing for a grand unraveling
China - U.S. Relations - a Situation
Problems can be addressed, one at a time because relevant solutions may be at hand. A geopolitical situation, with many adversarial issues in the mix, might be serene or explosive, tolerated either way, but never wholly satisfactory
Engaging China - a Roadmap
Communist ideology has been the cornerstone of China's political stability since 1949 but revolutionary exaltation has developed into orderly reform - a radical conceptual shift leaving the guidance of the CCP intact but a challenge for its leadership
India - Turbocharging digital adoption rates
Across India's heartland digital adoption rates lift continent-sized regions out of their century-old isolation with life-changing access to communications, entertainment and commercial transactions. Who wiill gain control over data and logistics ?
Amazon's Indian Winter
Amazon India's costly consumer-driven venture is floundering on the rocks of the country's exceptionalism, its democratic aspirations swayed by the pressure of its immense population and the weight of its troubled history
EU – Byelorussia – Going to Pot(ash)
Potash, the mineral resource and indispensable crop fertilizer,is Byelorussia's trump card in the global food chain. Overlooking the tragic fate ot migrants at the Polish and Lithuanian borders, a hard game is being played behind closed doors
Potash Plots
Supplied by large mining firms to a small number of global food producers, potash today is competitively priced - prodding smaller specialty chemical firms to diversify from the commodity market with sustainable agri-solutions
Transportation - a Green Nirvana
The European Union has staked its reputation of responsible governance on ambitious green policies but a cost-benefit analysis might need to rank emission-reduction targets globally rather than regionally
Laws of Unintended Consequences
Greens may be too closely indentified with scientific expertise on climate change to fully recognize the unintended consequences of principled policies, which call for compromise and understanding of the trade-offs required to stay on target
Digital India - Making a virtue of necessity
Challenged by China power politics, India cannot afford to falter in the upmarch. If market forces play out, if digitalization and interconnectivity on the world wide web opens India's economy to competition, the country's potential will grow apace.
Amazon - Playing dumb in Delhi
Seeking to expand on the strength of sales for its own account (and not only as platform for third parties), Amazon proves reluctant to adapt its global business model to the social and economic reality of developing countries such as India
Valneva vaccine - a French game changer? ... Not so fast...
Manufactured in a traditional way, by growing the inactivated virus, Valneva's vaccine could convince mRNA sceptics to reconsider and benefit from surging - and unmet - demand in developing countries, provided the firm scales production successfully
COVID-19 Vaccines
Chaos seems pre-ordained in FDA approval processes of numerous candidate vaccines. With a fluid reference to 'efficacy', the FDA is expected to deliver emergency authorizations within months, followed by rigorous and extensive year-long studies