The departing boss of Norway’s oil fund on building an asset manager
Apr 4th 2020THERE IS A point in a conversation with Yngve Slyngstad when he invokes Bjorn Borg, the Nordic tennis star of the 1970s. The Borg approach—make sure you don’t lose; above all, be solid—is one Mr Slyngstad has instilled in Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the organisation he has run since 2008 from within…
Abe Shinzo draws closer to declaring a state of emergency
Apr 4th 2020BARELY TWO weeks ago, the notion that Tokyo’s summer Olympic games should be postponed on account of the coronavirus pandemic was taboo among Japan’s ruling elites and the deferential national broadcaster, NHK. So, too, was any suggestion that covid-19 was not under control. But as soon as the prime minister, Abe Shinzo, admitted…
South Koreans at US military bases are furloughed
THE COMMANDER did not mince words. Furloughing half of the 9,000 South Koreans who work for the American military forces in the country for an indefinite period was “unthinkable” and “heartbreaking”, General Robert B. Abrams said in a televised address on April 1st. Yet he had to do it. As of this month thousands of…
Why more Indonesian teens are giving up dating
IT WAS LOVE at first like. When Natta Reza, a dashing Indonesian busker, discovered the young woman’s account on Instagram, he knew he’d found the one. He liked one of her posts, and they started chatting. Within hours he had proposed via an Instagram message. They married soon after, in February 2017. Since then Mr…
Thailand’s economy was suffering before the virus
DESPITE COUPS, floods and mass protests, visitors have flocked to Thailand in recent decades. Almost 40m of them arrived last year to blister on its beaches and dance in its discos. But as the globe shuts down because of covid-19 and holidaymakers stay at home, the land of smiles feels glum. Travel and tourism, broadly…
Some African governments are enforcing lockdowns brutally
DURING APARTHEID in South Africa, policemen who wanted to control crowds often reached for the sjambok—a vicious, three-foot-long whip traditionally made of rhino hide. That symbol of brutality was banned in 1989. But it is back in use as police enforce a 21-day lockdown meant to slow the spread of covid-19.On March 30th in Hillbrow,…
Why covid-19 has spread among Israel’s ultra-Orthodox
THIS WAS to be the week when Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, finally won. After three inconclusive elections in the span of a year, he had all but convinced his bitter rival, Benny Gantz, to join him in government. There were still some things to be worked out, such as how fast to…
A lost year in Saudi Arabia
THE YEAR had got off to a good start for Saudi Arabia. After a sluggish stretch the non-oil economy was growing, and officials were eager to lure new investment. The war in neighbouring Yemen seemed to be winding down. The world had largely moved on from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist dismembered by…
A chocolate factory in a conflict zone
DOMINIQUE PERSOONE, the bad boy of Belgian chocolate, has served powdered chocolate that has been snorted like cocaine at a party for the Rolling Stones and had the sticky stuff drizzled on naked women for a photo shoot. His latest escapade is making chocolate in the jungles of eastern Congo.The scheme is less madcap than…
Cinema’s ‘Drive-In’ is a Blockbuster Opening Weekend Smash
A cinema in Texas turned its enclosed movie theater into a “drive-in” in the establishment’s parking lot and it was a big success. EVO Entertainment premiered its drive-in conception at its multiplex in Schertz, Texas, supplying movie buffs an out-of-the-house outlet to view recent Hollywood blockbusters. To suggest the first weekend was triumphant was an…