Amazon and Walmart - Who Will Take India?

By Michelle Seiler-Tucker

The two American giants’ fight for Indian territory has started to intensify. Amazon and Walmart have been competing to acquire majority stake in India’s largest e-commerce company, Flipkart. Recent developments suggest Walmart has proposed a $10-12 billion offer for a 51% stake; the deal could close by the end of June. On the other hand, Amazon has marked its presence by attaching a breakup fee of up to $2 billion. A breakup fee is a penalty established in the deal process that requires payment if the purchaser or seller backs out. In this case, Amazon will pay a hefty fee if the deal is incomplete for whatever reason. Nonetheless, the deal structures emphasize the seriousness of both parties. [more...]

Welcome to the Class War

By Lowell Ponte

In the Great Class War between the “rich” and the government, whose side are you on? This week MarketWatch reported that by 2030, “the richest 1%” are on track to “control nearly 66% of the world’s money.” This is approximately $305 trillion, it reported, based on data from the hard-left British newspaper The Guardian, best-selling French Marxist economist Thomas Piketty, and other sources with comradely views. The activist group Oxfam warns that “just eight billionaires have as much wealth as 3.6 billion people – the poorest half of the world.” [more...]