Wheels: McLaren’s Formula One History Drives It on the Streets

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Supported by Business Day McLaren’s Formula One History Drives It on the Streets WOKING, England — “These are not like rational purchases,” Mike Flewitt said. “You don’t need to buy a McLaren.”
Sharing the room was a sculptural, blue McLaren 570S Spider convertible. Scary fast with a top speed of 204 miles an hour, it is cheap for a McLaren, starting at 164,750 pounds — about $230,000.
“A car like this is just an indulgence,” said Mr. Flewitt, who is the chief executive of McLaren Automotive. “It is a luxury.”
Mr. Flewitt, a former Ford executive, is leading McLaren’s bid to make the company a force at the very top end of the car market. The company can trace its origins back more than five decades to the race driver and car designer Bruce McLaren, who made his name on circuits like Formula One. By marrying the pedigree and technology of racing machines to what are (at least nominally) street cars, McLaren aims to win the sort of customers who can afford any car they like.
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Breakingviews: Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business

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Supported by Why BlackRock’s Move to Disarm Some Funds Is Good Business Photo BlackRock, led by Laurence D. Fink, will allow investors to invest in market indexes without putting money into manufacturers and retailers of firearms. Credit Mike Cohen for The New York Times BlackRock may have found a simple solution to its gun dilemma. The fund manager, led by Laurence D. Fink, will offer new products allowing individuals and institutions to invest in market indexes without putting money into manufacturers and retailers of firearms. Coupled with a plan to engage public gunmakers and sellers directly, the decision moves Mr. Fink closer to fulfilling a promise that BlackRock’s business benefit society alongside the bottom line.
Because it has over $6 trillion of client money to invest, much of it in products that follow stock and bond market indexes, BlackRock is among the top owners of nearly every public company. That includes American Outdoor Brands, maker of the AR-15-style rifle u..

E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt

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Supported by Business Day E.P.A. Officials Sidelined After Questioning Scott Pruitt Photo Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency faced career repercussions after questioning the spending of its administrator, Scott Pruitt, center. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times WASHINGTON — At least five officials at the Environmental Protection Agency, four of them high-ranking, were reassigned or demoted, or requested new jobs in the past year after they raised concerns about the spending and management of the agency’s administrator, Scott Pruitt.
The concerns included unusually large spending on office furniture and first-class travel, as well as certain demands by Mr. Pruitt for security coverage, such as requests for a bulletproof vehicle and an expanded 20-person protective detail, according to people who worked for or with the E.P.A. and have direct knowledge of the situation.
Mr. Pruitt bristled when the officials — four career E.P.A. employees and one Trump administration..

Trump Veers From Tax Script to Blast Democrats on Immigration

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Supported by Politics Trump Veers From Tax Script to Blast Democrats on Immigration Photo Bored with his prepared remarks at an event in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., on Thursday, President Trump opted instead for a lengthy tirade against immigrants and the nation’s immigration laws. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — President Trump on Thursday lashed out at Democrats for opposing his proposals to fortify the border and toughen immigration laws, accusing his political opponents of embracing dangerous policies to secure immigrant votes.
“This is what the Democrats are doing to you, and they like it because they think they’re going to vote Democrat,” Mr. Trump said, after recounting the terrorist attack in Lower Manhattan last October, in which an Uzbek immigrant killed eight people when he drove a truck onto a pedestrian and bicycle path on the West Side Highway. “They’re doing it for that reason, and other reasons.”
Mr. Trump traveled to West Virg..

Newsbook: Do Your Taxes. Then, Read These Books

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Supported by Books Do Your Taxes. Then, Read These Books As you gather your receipts and W-2s this tax season, you may be inspired to tackle your overall financial well-being. Here are three books that can help.
Photo YOU ARE A BADASS AT MAKING MONEY
Master the Mindset of Wealth
By Jen Sincero
269 pp. Viking. (2017)
According to this book, if you want to make more money, it starts with changing how you think about your finances. This book is aimed at changing readers’ mentality. In Sincero’s view, pursuing wealth gets a bad rap — that it is greedy, gross or will prevent you from spending time with your family — and those negative associations hold people back from achieving their desired or deserved income level. She argues that money can be a conduit to living a richer life and guides readers through thought exercises and mantras to change how readers talk to themselves about money and unleash their ability to attain it.
Photo THIS IS THE YEAR I PUT MY FINANCIAL LIFE IN ORDER
B..

Groups in Myanmar Fire Back at Zuckerberg

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Groups in Myanmar Fire Back at Zuckerberg Photo A half-dozen civil society groups in Myanmar said in an open letter on Thursday that Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, had mischaracterized the social network’s efforts to detect hate speech in their country. Credit Noah Berger/Associated Press SHANGHAI — Civil society groups in Myanmar on Thursday criticized Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, arguing that he mischaracterized his company’s effectiveness at detecting and quashing messages encouraging violence in the country.
Taking aim at comments made by Mr. Zuckerberg in a recent interview, the groups said that Facebook had no consistent methods for dealing with hate speech in Myanmar. The same problems keep recurring, they said, with the company routinely failing to follow up on their comments and suggestions.
In a conversation with Vox’s Ezra Klein this week, Mr. Zuckerberg referred to a pair of chain letters that spread around Myanmar on Facebook Messenger last ye..