Rupert Murdoch at 90: Fox, succession and 'one more big play' - Financial Times ft.com/content/d9719c…
His children are at odds, not least over Fox News. Lachlan Murdoch, his elder son, is heir apparent. But the succession question somehow still remains open.
He survived the phone-hacking crisis at his UK newspapers, several health scares, had two daughters, divorced, found love with Jerry Hall, bought the WSJ, built Fox News to become America’s most watched news network, rode the Trump wave, and outlasted its crashing aftermath.
Fox News is on track to account for more than 80% of Fox’s total operating profits this year, according to MoffettNathanson. Its profit margins are in excess of 50%.
Murdoch isn’t too bothered about the challenges from critics, rival right-wing broadcasters or lawsuits against Fox, say people close to him. What he is preoccupied with is the parent company’s future, and its leadership.
With television in long-term decline, Lachlan has made enthusiastic bets on businesses more primed for the future, such as Tubi, an ad-supported video-streaming platform for which he paid $440m.
Murdoch feels he still has time. His mother, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, lived to 103 and health-conscious Murdoch has no intention of being short-changed. “I’m just not ready to stop, to die,” he once declared.
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Both are aiming for self-sufficiency in strategic areas, each fueled by fear the other wants to upend their political system: One that sees free speech and democracy as essential to prosperity, and another that puts one-party rule above individual liberty to deliver growth.
Xi wants to show the party can play a successful role in guiding the economy, particularly after Washington sought to undermine its legitimacy to rule and destroy national champions such as Huawei and SMIC, China’s largest microchip manufacturer.
Ronna Romney McDaniel heads a party that has lost the House, the Senate and the White House under her leadership and is riven by infighting over whether she should defend Trump more forcefully — or at all. washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/ronn…
Growing up in Michigan, she wasn’t just a kid; she was the granddaughter of George Romney, the iconic politician who had served as the state’s governor and had made a run at the Republican presidential nomination before she was born.
“It’s hard to have a name that’s well-known. When you have a well-known name, doors can open,” McDaniel’s mother, known to family and friends as “Big Ronna” Romney, said in an interview.
Banks in Germany Tell Customers to Take Deposits Elsewhere - The Wall Street Journal wsj.com/articles/banks…
Germany’s biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, have told new customers since last year to pay a 0.5% annual rate to keep large sums of money with them.
The banks say they can no longer absorb the negative interest rates the European Central Bank charges them.
The ECB’s deposit rate, which it charges banks, is minus 0.5%. The central bank has signaled it is unlikely to change that level anytime soon.
Germany occupies a unique place in the British national psyche.
In 1961, the US envoy concluded if the division of Germany were to be made permanent, this would be overwhelmingly popular in a country where the word ‘Hun’ was still in common usage. books.google.com/books/about/Br…
Relations between West Germany and Britain are traditionally characterized as alternating periods of hostility and harmony.
This is reflected in the literature on Anglo-German relations during the Cold War.
This ambiguity is a product of the process whereby Britain and Germany evolved from deadly enemies to alliance partners.
In the ultimate place, West Germany was able to create a hard-line policy on the German question by virtue of the indulgence of the United States.
GabLeaks, as DDoSecrets is calling the leak, comes almost eight weeks after pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol. The rioters took hundreds of thousands of videos and photos of the siege and posted them online.
While the Chinese government has not said if and when it will officially introduce the eCNY nationwide, several officials have mentioned having it ready for tourists visiting for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
The design of eCNY borrows only a few minor technical elements from Bitcoin and does not use the so-called blockchain technology, a ledgerlike system, which most cryptocurrencies rely on, officials from the People’s Bank of China have said.