Siblings fight viciously for the Telecoms empire

The battle for control of Canada’s largest wireless carrier, revealing  a broader drama of the cutthroat telecom industry, the labyrinth of regulatory and political systems that govern it, and the high stakes corporate games played by the Canadian establishment. In the annals of boardroom drama, the video message clip that emerged in early 2022 was a quiet a show stopper. “Edward. This is from Suzanne”, growled the actor Brain Cox famous for playing the media magnate Logon Roy in the hit television series Succession at Rogers Communication. And also have Joe Natale fuck the fuck off.” The Canadian business community witnessed … Continue reading Siblings fight viciously for the Telecoms empire

Berkshire makes $47bn after-tax gain by selling 309m Apple shares

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has slashed its stake in Apple  in half as part of a selling spree by dumping £76bn of stocks, generating huge investment profits, as investors are fretting over a possible US recession and dumped risky assets. Tokyo’s Topix fell 12.2 per cent, the sharpest fall since Black Monday in October 1987. On Wall Street tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 6.3 per cent at the open, while the S&P 500 lost 4.1 per cent, before both pared their losses. The Vix Index of expected US stock market turbulence known as Wall Street’s fear gauge jumped above 65 … Continue reading Berkshire makes $47bn after-tax gain by selling 309m Apple shares

“Only way is up” Skyscrapers are engines of progress, awe and wonder

The world’s skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversial – for their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade they keep getting higher and higher.  Jason Barr explains What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions, in Cities in the Sky, and why they appeal to cities and nations: how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a city’s skyline and enable the world’s greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century. When the Empire State Building ( 1250 feet) was completed, its roof deck was, designed as … Continue reading “Only way is up” Skyscrapers are engines of progress, awe and wonder

Heard of AI-based mental health support

Millions of people, often in well-paid jobs and well-organised societies are disengaged and dissatisfied, as rates of mental health conditions among the young are at all-time highs. Wellness spawned a global industry worth an estimated £1.5 trillion in 2024: spas, retreats, and yoga holidays are booming, while even the big employer has a “wellness programme” offering largely useless remedies: AI-based mental health support or lunchtime meditation. Despite criticisms, much of the wellness movement was aimed at improving the wide lot of humanity. What is wellness ? What is amorphous universe while taking part in activities that make a positive health: … Continue reading Heard of AI-based mental health support

Overwhelming incandescent rage

Zoe Stamper, Junior researcher in Ancient Greek Tragedy, the younger partner in a same-sex marriage which has produced two children, Zoe is, after almost 20 years, now messily attempting to separate from her spouse, Dr Penny Cartwright. Complications are added by the fact that Robin, the children’s biological father, who donated sperm to both women and is fully present in their lives, occupies the flat below theirs. Robin’s uncompromising parental role, rigidly set out before either child was even conceived, is amplified by a fourth party, his sister Justine – who also happens to be Penny’s-ex. Zoe, down the academic … Continue reading Overwhelming incandescent rage

Love in future is algorithms and chemicals

Bonding  reads like a 19-century novel of manners for the modern dating etiquette, consent and abuse. Mary sets out to change her life, one ill-advised decision at a time.First, she books a spontaneous flight to Ibiza where she meets Tom and eventually she might finally be fallen gin love.   Adrift in her early thirties, bisexual Mary embarks on a relationship with Tom, an enigmatic chemist working on a drug to treat depression, the modern epidemic. But Eurasia also dramatically diminishes sexual restraint. Mary has just accepted a job at Openr, an ethical, innovative dating app with no limits, which aims … Continue reading Love in future is algorithms and chemicals

Death is on the prowl

Samsara is  a world-class spa nestled in the Indian Himalayas where all your wishes were only a gilded notecard away. Ro Krishna has just checked in.  With his rakish charm, Oxford education, and perfect hair, he had it all, until he left his job under mysterious circumstances, It was super hectic, and Ro decides it’s time for some much-needed R&R. At Samsara he is free to explore the innumerable yoga classes to rebalance their privileged existence, wellness treatments and guided-meditation session on offer alongside the rest of the exclusive hotel’s guests. Until one of the guests -gorgeous, charismatic, well-connected, like … Continue reading Death is on the prowl

Not Guilty after being railroaded by HP

Fifty-nine Year-old, Mike Lynch, British tech tycoon and Autonomy co-founder cleared of fraud after spending more than a decade fighting fraud accusations about making $516 million from selling his company, says he feared that he would die in prison. He could see his wife Angela,  daughters  who are now 21 and 18 return to his beloved  farm near Aldeburgh in Suffolk and greet his dogs Switch, Tappet, Pinion, Valve, Cam. Faucet was acquired to keep him company in San Francisco. Autonomy was the most valuable tech firm in Britain, employing 2, 000 people across 20 countries, including  AT&T, BNP Paribas and BlackRock.  Lynch pulled off … Continue reading Not Guilty after being railroaded by HP

Ordinary life made exceptional

In My Beloved Life, Jadunath Kunwar, a historian, involving lining up the past with the present. Having lived through the evolution of modern India, Jadu wishes to tell “ the story of our nation at a point of time”,  but spends most of his life putting off the act of writing it all down. “ I’m not a  writer” a rural doctor tells another character. An exceptionally moving novel that traces the arc of a man’s life, an ordinary life made exceptional by the fact that he was loved and has been loved in turn. Born in 1935 to illiterate … Continue reading Ordinary life made exceptional

Dictators seeking to impose their vision

Historian and Anglo-Polish journalist Anne Applebaum uncovers the sophisticated networks of kleptocratic financial structures, security services and professional propagandists. The main enemies of domestic demagogues fanning the flames of populism. Foreign dictators who seek to impose their vision of a new international; order and hate our freedoms in George W Bush’s sonorous phrase. Applebaum’s catchy coinage “ Who are these bad guys?” is said to be a group of autocratic regimes, such as Russia, China and Iran, who together operate “not like a bloc but rather like an agglomeration of companies, bound not by ideology but rather by a ruthless, … Continue reading Dictators seeking to impose their vision