Global weekly news: A guru’s views on Trump and polluted Delhi

Warren Buffett on the new leader

WHEN investment guru Warren Buffett speaks, the world listens carefully, and more so now after Donald Trump’s stunning election victory which rocked the whole world really hard.

In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow on Thursday, Buffett, who was a vocal backer of Hillary Clinton, now says he supports any president of United States.

He explains Trump victory to Americans being resentful of the wealth gap in the country. The question is whether the President-elect could fix this problem and on this Buffett is a bit skeptical about his claims on how fast he could grow the economy because, as he says, “Nobody can grow the economy 4% in real terms over time …The math is too extraordinary.”

However Buffet does think that even 2% annual growth over a period of a few years will lead to wage growth and gains in the stock market.

Regarding stocks, Buffett, who is also known as the ‘Oracle of  Omaha,’ said he was not at all surprised to see the market rally after Trump won and thinks concerns that the market would tank because of Trump were “silly,”

Buffett was also not worried about Trump trying to enact some of the more controversial things that he talked about in his campaign, such as cracking down on immigration and enacting isolationist trade policies.

“There are a lot of things said in campaigns that don’t happen after the election,” he said.

Regarding Trump’s plan to impose 35% tariffs on goods imported to the US, Buffett said: “It’s a bad idea, a very bad idea, but I’m not going to say it is going to cause a recession.”

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Top: Warren Buffett speaking to a group of students. Photo: Mark Hirschey and published by Wikipedia.

World’s most polluted city

WHILE India’s move to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee notes as part of its anti-corruption drive hit the headlines across the world, another small but significant report received less attention and that is New Delhi is now the most polluted city on earth.
CNN’s James Griffiths said that the Indian capital is choking under off-the-charts smog with some parts of the metropolis reporting levels almost five times those considered unhealthy by US environmental protection agency.

“Measurements taken at the US Embassy in Delhi put the city’s Air Quality Index at 999 on Monday, off the standard chart, which finishes at the ‘hazardous’ level of 500.

“By comparison, the highest AQI level recorded on Monday in Baoding — China’s most polluted city — was 298.”

According to a research released earlier this year the air quality levels for 80% of those living in urban areas around the globe exceed World Health Organization guidelines.

There has been pollution protests in Delhi with hundreds of people joining one outside Parliament last Sunday while others voiced their displeasure online, posting to Twitter with the slogan #MyRightToBreathe.

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Inset: Young Indian runners take part in the New Delhi 10K Challenge amid heavy smog on November 6. Photo: CNN

Alibaba breaks a key record

WITH Jack Ma being quite popular among Bangkok’s  upper echelons, many people here will be interested to note that he has chalked up yet another success and that is Alibaba beating its sales record for the Singles Day event.

For those who don’t know, Singles Day is held every year on November 11 with the day also referred to Double Eleven because of its date.

According to BBC,this year the e-commerce giant had total sales of 121 billion yuan ($18 billion), an increase over last year’s sales which were worth $14.3 billion.

However no matter how well you perform, there are always people who doubt whether you really hit the mark, and in this instance some have questioned the accuracy of the numbers because there are claims that Chinese online retailers tend to inflate sales data.

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Inset: A delivery worker pulls a cart loaded with goods past workers sorting parcels for their customers in Beijing. Photo: BBC

A ‘seven-star’ hotel in Shanghai

THOSE with surplus cash and are visiting Shanghai might be interested in staying at the Wanda Reign on the Bund which bills itself as a ‘seven-star’ hotel.

According to CNN’s Marianna Cerini, this $516 million hotel was opened in June after three years of construction and  is the latest addition to the many high-end hospitality options along the iconic Bund waterfront of the Huangpu River, joining the likes of the Peninsula, Waldorf Astoria and, across the river, Shangri-La and Grand Hyatt.

It’s the 51st hotel of the Wanda Hotels & Resorts group, part of the Dalian Wanda empire under the helm of China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin.

However it is his 28-year-old son Wang Sicong who is considered the brainchild of the property and he is also famous for his ostentatious displays of wealth and millennial cool.

Apparently he booked an entire island resort for his 27th birthday and made headlines for purchasing iPhone 7s and Apple watches for his dog.

While some frown upon the youngster’s lifestyle others, mainly China’s second-generation rich, the sons and daughters of tycoons,  see him as a model nouveau riche.

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Below: Got an urge to strum? The Chairman’s Suite at Wanda Reign on the Bund  has its own harp. Photo: CNN

By Nina Suebsukcharoen

 

 

 

 

 

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