1 Pound plunges as Brexit seems near (Andrew Sparrow
in The Guardian) Sir Vince Cable, the former Lib Dem business secretary, has
told BBC that if leave win, David Cameron’s days as prime minister will be
over.
Professor Michael Thrasher, the Sky News number
cruncher, says that as things stand it looks as if leave is heading for a
12-point lead. The pound is slumping, down 5.5% at $1.408 as bookies put Leave
as the favourite to win. And the FTSE 100 futures are down more than 4%.
Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, has said the
leave vote – which is looking very strong in Wales – was an attack on the
establishment. She also said that if the UK does leave the EU it could provide
opportunities for Plaid, whose ultimate aim is independence for Wales.
“It’s looking as though those areas where there are
greatest areas of deprivation and poverty, those areas which are receiving the
most amount of money from EU funds are the areas where people are voting in the
greatest number to leave. I’m of the view it’s austerity that is at the root of
the problem here. People want change and they’ve seen this as an opportunity to
get the change they want,” she said.
2 Volkswagen ‘to pay $10bn’ for US emission claims
(BBC) Volkswagen has agreed to pay $10.2bn to settle some claims in the US from
its emissions cheating scandal, according to reports. Most of the money would
compensate 482,000 owners of two-litre diesel cars programmed to distort
emissions tests.
Owners could receive between $1,000 and $7,000,
depending on their car's age. The agreement could still change when it is
officially announced by a judge on Tuesday, sources said. Lawyers representing
car owners, Volkswagen and the US Environmental Protection Agency have not yet
agreed the steps VW will take to fix the cars.
The company still faces accusations over its
three-litre diesel cars, as well as the prospect of hefty fines from US
regulators and possible criminal charges. Earlier this year the German company
more than doubled its provisions for the scandal to €16.2bn.
Volkswagen admitted in September it had installed a
"defeat device" - or software - in diesel engines in the US that
could detect when they were being tested. The company subsequently revealed
that more than 11 million cars worldwide were affected.
3 Refugees as future entrepreneurs (John Pilmer in
San Francisco Chronicle) Current world events have spotlighted refugees in an
often unflattering light. Governments are expressing concern that refugees will
take up dwindling resources or be a security risk. While these may be valid
concerns, there are plenty of positive reasons to take in refugees.
Much like the economic conditions in Cuba have made
the population restless and ready for new opportunities, for many refugees,
life-changing struggles help to fuel an entrepreneurial spirit. You don’t have
to look very far to discover great examples of refugees who have had a positive
impact on the world. (Google co-founder Sergey Brin is among them) Refugees
have a strong inclination to not only survive, but to reach for something
better.
Necessity naturally drives people to come up with
solutions to problems all around them, from starting a pizza delivery service
in a displacement camp to influencing global politics. By bringing their unique
perspectives and skill sets to a new country, refugees are more than capable of
finding new ways of doing business.
In Canada, Australia and Germany -- to name a few
places -- immigrants and refugees have had a higher rate of successful
entrepreneurial endeavors than the native population. In 2016 in the US, more
than one in six business owners are foreign born.
Of course, creating a business out of nothing is
always an uphill battle. Hurdles such as startup capital, language barriers and
lack of a strong support network are real problems to would-be refugee entrepreneurs.
But the courage that brought them out of conflict-ridden countries, the
risk-taking that brought them across dangerous borders, the determination that
led them to start a new life and the resilience that keeps them going so far
from everything they know are all of the traits that make for successful
business owners.
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