Posts by Mark Darwin
Culture Isn’t a Democracy—It’s a Declaration
Every founder wants a place people love to work. I do too. But chasing approval from the loudest voices can wreck the very culture you’re trying to build. My stance is simple: define what you stand for, say it plainly, and hire people who actually want that. Anything else is chaos disguised as kindness. The…
Read MoreBank of Japan keeps yen watchers on edge for rate-hike clues
Yen weakness and negative real rates risk fuelling inflation, leaving the BOJ behind the curve [TOKYO] The upcoming Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting offers scope for sharp movements in the yen as investors try to gauge the timing of its next hike – with a looming election adding to the confusion. All 52 economists surveyed by Bloomberg…
Read MoreFAA warns airlines on Central, South American flights of potential military actions
THE US Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines on Friday to exercise caution when flying over Mexico, Central America and parts of South America, citing the risks of potential military activities and GPS interference. The FAA said it had issued Notices to Airmen covering Mexico and Central American countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia and portions…
Read MoreVenezuelan banks will get US$300 million of oil money to sell on exchange market: sources
FOUR Venezuelan banks were notified this week by the country’s government that they will split US$300 million of oil revenues deposited in an account in Qatar, enabling them to sell dollars to Venezuelan companies that need foreign exchange to pay for materials, two financial sources and an analyst said. The injection of foreign capital comes…
Read MoreOil prices settle up as US begins holiday weekend
[HOUSTON] Oil prices settled higher on Friday as some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US and lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran. Brent crude settled at US$64.13 a barrel up 37 cents or 0.58 per cent. US West Texas Intermediate finished at…
Read MoreEuropean shares subdued as luxury stocks, miners weigh
EUROPEAN shares were subdued on Friday, limited by weakness in luxury and mining stocks in a dour end to a week dominated by the start to a busy earnings season alongside geopolitical jitters. The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished flat at 614.38 points, with the luxury index falling 3.2 per cent and logging its biggest daily fall since…
Read MoreGreat Marketing Is Broken—and I’m Fixing Access
Marketing shouldn’t be a luxury item. Yet for too many brands, that’s how it’s priced, packaged, and delivered. My view is simple: great marketing is unfairly out of reach, and the industry’s structure keeps it that way. That’s not just bad for startups and mid-market companies—it’s bad for the entire economy. More than a decade…
Read MoreJPMorgan eclipses Dimensional as world’s biggest active ETF firm
The bank’s asset management arm currently controls nearly US$257 billion in active ETFs worldwide [NEW YORK] JPMorgan Asset Management has a new superlative: The firm now hails as the world’s largest issuer of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The bank’s asset management arm currently controls nearly US$257 billion in active ETFs worldwide, according to data…
Read MoreIntel extends comeback as investors bet on foundry growth
The stock is up 31% to start 2026, the third-best performance in the S&P 500 Index [NEW YORK] Intel’s dramatic rally to start the year shows investors are increasingly optimistic about the chipmaker gaining new foundry customers, putting it back into the artificial intelligence trade it appeared to abandon in 2024. The stock is up…
Read MoreSIA, Air India ink pact for commercial cooperation
The airlines are exploring ways to enhance privileges beyond the current Star Alliance and KrisFlyer programmes [SINGAPORE] Singapore Airlines (SIA) has signed a commercial cooperation framework agreement with Air India that will build on existing partnerships between the two carriers. In a joint release on Friday (Jan 16), the two airlines said that this latest…
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