The daily business briefing: April 4, 2016
Massive leak shows how world leaders hide assets, Alaska Airlines wins bidding war for Virgin America, and more
- 1. Panama Papers leak provides look at tax havens used by rich and powerful
- 2. Alaska Airlines wins bidding war for Virgin America
- 3. Stocks get continued boost from Fed comments ahead of this week's trading
- 4. Airline complaints hit 15-year high despite industry improvement
- 5. Eurozone unemployment falls to 5-year low
1. Panama Papers leak provides look at tax havens used by rich and powerful
A team of journalists on Sunday published a trove of leaked documents describing how world leaders, celebrities, business tycoons, and criminals hide assets using offshore banks and shell companies. The investigators spent months digging through the so-called Panama Papers, 2.6 terabytes of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The data showed links to 72 current or former heads of state, including Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Iceland's prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Australia and New Zealand are investigating. Mossack Fonseca denied any wrongdoing.
2. Alaska Airlines wins bidding war for Virgin America
Alaska Airlines announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Virgin America for about $4 billion. Alaska Airlines won a bidding war with JetBlue by offering $57 a share in cash — a 47 percent premium on Friday's closing price. Alaska Airlines said the deal, which would make it the fifth biggest U.S. airline, would help it expand its West Coast presence and "provide more choices for customers" and "increase competition." Virgin America shares jumped by 32 percent in pre-market trading.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Business Insider The Wall Street Journal
3. Stocks get continued boost from Fed comments ahead of this week's trading
U.S. stock futures pointed to gains at the opening of the week's trading despite a decline in oil prices that came after a Saudi official threw fresh cold water on hopes for an oil-output cut. Analysts called this evidence that the Federal Reserve's reiteration of its plan to go slow on hiking interest rates was boosting investor confidence, and "decoupling" stock indexes from oil prices, after weeks of seeing the major indexes rising and falling in lock-step with the price of crude.
4. Airline complaints hit 15-year high despite industry improvement
Airline passenger complaints jumped by 34 percent, to their highest level since 2000, even though more flights arrived on time in the past year, according to an annual report being released Monday. On-time arrivals, denied boardings, and mishandled baggage — the other three quality measures examined in the 2016 Airline Quality Rating report — showed slight improvement. "Everything is getting better, but they are still unhappy about the same things," says report co-author Dean Headley, a marketing professor at Wichita State.
The Wichita Eagle The Associated Press
5. Eurozone unemployment falls to 5-year low
Europe's unemployment rate declined in February to its lowest level since 2011, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat reported Monday. The fall from 10.4 percent to 10.3 percent was in line with economists' forecasts. The figures spotlighted vast differences among EU members, with Germany's rate at just 4.3 percent while Spain's was 20.4 percent. One analysts described the change as "movement sideways" that came as growth, prices, and economic confidence are declining.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
'The House GOP is begging to lose their majority'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Pig kidney transplant recipient dies
Speed Read Richard Slayman has passed away two months after undergoing the historic procedure
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Putin replaces defense minister with economist
Speed Read In a surprising shake-up, Putin replaced Sergei Shoigu with civilian economist Andrei Belousov
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 24, 2024
Business Briefing The S&P 500 sets a third straight record, Netflix adds more subscribers than expected, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 23, 2024
Business Briefing The Dow and S&P 500 set fresh records, Bitcoin falls as ETF enthusiasm fades, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 22, 2024
Business Briefing FAA recommends inspections of a second Boeing 737 model, Macy's rejects Arkhouse bid, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Geopolitics and the economy in 2024
Talking Point The West is banking on a year of falling inflation. Don't rule out a shock
By The Week UK Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 19, 2024
Business Briefing Macy's to cut 2,350 jobs, Congress averts a government shutdown, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 18, 2024
Business Briefing Shell suspends shipments in the Red Sea, December retail sales beat expectations, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 17, 2024
Business Briefing Judge blocks JetBlue-Spirit merger plan, Goldman Sachs beats expectations with wealth-management boost, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The daily business briefing: January 16, 2024
Business Briefing Boeing steps up inspections on 737 Max 9 jets, Zelenskyy fights for world leaders' attention at Davos, and more
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published