business and finance

Home / Categories / business and finance

Search category post



occupy was right capitalism has failed the world

occupy was right capitalism has failed the world

One of the slogans of the 2011 Occupy protests was 'capitalism isn't working'. Now,in...


Read more
the corruption of capitalism by guy standing...

the corruption of capitalism by guy standing...

Our unfair system benefits rentiers,those who live on income from property and investments – from...


Read more
the end of alchemy by mervyn king review - a...

the end of alchemy by mervyn king review - a...

What went wrong in 2007? This richly rewarding book considers the lessons of the financial...


Read more
the tumultuous career of patrick drahi

the tumultuous career of patrick drahi

WHAT does France’s corporate establishment make of the change in fortunes of Patrick Drahi,a...


Read more
bets on low market volatility went spectacularly...

bets on low market volatility went spectacularly...

THE Cboe Volatility Index,or Vix, known as the “fear gauge”, or spikes when markets are most...


Read more
our big mac index shows fundamentals now matter...

our big mac index shows fundamentals now matter...

IT IS usually considered quaint (charmingly old fashioned) to predict foreign-exchange movements by...


Read more
financial regulators too often think  this time is...

financial regulators too often think this time is...

FOR a phenomenon with such predictably bad outcomes,a financial boom is strangely seductive. Not a...


Read more
air france klm is being brought to its knees by...

air france klm is being brought to its knees by...

AIR FRANCE likes to present itself as a cut above other European airlines. Offering fancy French...


Read more
the markets still have plenty to fret about

the markets still have plenty to fret about

BULL markets always climb a wall of worry,or so the saying goes. For much of 2017, the main concerns...


Read more
american banks pay depositors less than online...

american banks pay depositors less than online...

EVERYONE knows that interest rates are rising—apart from,perhaps, one group: American savers who...


Read more
the markets  apparent calm over brexit is...

the markets apparent calm over brexit is...

FOR all the sound and fury of the Brexit negotiations,it has seemed at times as whether the...


Read more
a big blackstone deal shows how private equity has...

a big blackstone deal shows how private equity has...

THE financial crisis a decade ago brought the glory days of private fairness to a screeching halt....


Read more
whatsapp: mark zuckerberg s other headache

whatsapp: mark zuckerberg s other headache

“THERE’S too much sensationalism,misinformation and polarisation in the world nowadays,”...


Read more
direct lending funds in europe

direct lending funds in europe

WHEN Caronte & Tourist,a Sicilian ferry company, needs a novel ship, or it is cheap and easy to...


Read more
coco bonds have not lived up to their promise

coco bonds have not lived up to their promise

DURING the financial crisis,Western governments poured hundreds of billions of dollars into their...


Read more
airbus executives get swept away by a corruption...

airbus executives get swept away by a corruption...

 “THE success of Airbus is intimately linked to the success of John,” says Eric Schulz,...


Read more
might higher interest rates spoil america s...

might higher interest rates spoil america s...

AMENDING a famous metaphor,Janet Yellen once said that the Federal Reserve would “retain refilling...


Read more
a decade after it hit, what was learnt from the...

a decade after it hit, what was learnt from the...

TEN years ago this month,America entered the “distinguished Recession”. A decade on, the...


Read more
23 things they dont tell you about capitalism by...

23 things they dont tell you about capitalism by...

Ha-Joon Chang offers a masterful debunking of some of the myths of capitalism,writes John GrayThe...


Read more
venezuela s currency plumbs unknown depths

venezuela s currency plumbs unknown depths

EVEN a modest rate of inflation compounds over time. This is why your tipsy grandfather might...


Read more
a vote on  net neutrality  has intensified a...

a vote on net neutrality has intensified a...

A DAY before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to rescind “net neutrality...


Read more
the silo effect by gillian tett review - a...

the silo effect by gillian tett review - a...

‘Our world does not function effectively whether it is always rigidly streamlined’ … Tett...


Read more
lessons to a columnist s previous self

lessons to a columnist s previous self

IN A British television show,“Doctor Who”, the titular character is able to travel anywhere in...


Read more
america s companies have binged on debt; a...

america s companies have binged on debt; a...

AMERICA’s companies acquire been powering ahead for years. Amid growing profits,the recession that...


Read more
what a takeover of dr pepper says about a...

what a takeover of dr pepper says about a...

EUROPE is domestic to some extraordinary wealth creators who often try to hide their success. Ingvar...


Read more
market volatility has been low, encouraging risk...

market volatility has been low, encouraging risk...

MAY YOU live in boring times. Financial markets contain become monotonous,whether profitable. The...


Read more
2018 will be the year that large, incumbent...

2018 will be the year that large, incumbent...

ACCORDING to Ginni Rometty,IBM’s boss, the digital revolution has two phases. In the first, and...


Read more
the euro zone s boom masks problems that will...

the euro zone s boom masks problems that will...

“WHAT does not kill me makes me stronger, wrote Nietzsche in “Götzen-Dämmerung”, or...


Read more
buying local is more expensive than it looks

buying local is more expensive than it looks

RANDY KULL,a businessman based in Illinois, sells traffic signs. His products have international...


Read more
economists focus too little on what people really...

economists focus too little on what people really...

A CYNIC,says one of Oscar Wilde’s characters, is a man who knows the price of everything and the...


Read more
espn starts a streaming service

espn starts a streaming service

THE first week for ESPN+,a sports streaming service that Disney, owner of ESPN, and launched in...


Read more
the spoils from american corporate tax reform are...

the spoils from american corporate tax reform are...

“IT’S always a lot of fun when you win,” President Donald Trump enthused after his tax package...


Read more
south to south investment is rising sharply

south to south investment is rising sharply

AT A assembly in Namibia last month Zimbabwes finance minister,Patrick Chinamasa, made a pitch to...


Read more
south korea s antitrust tsar has a good shot at...

south korea s antitrust tsar has a good shot at...

AS KIM SANG-JO was preparing last May to invent the switch from snappy shareholder activist to a...


Read more
many happy returns: new data reveal long term...

many happy returns: new data reveal long term...

DATA-GATHERING is the least sexy part of economics,which is saying something. Yet it is also among...


Read more
blockchain revolution review - satoshi nakamoto s...

blockchain revolution review - satoshi nakamoto s...

Blockchain,the increasingly celebrated peer-to-peer data technology, is the basis of bitcoin and has...


Read more
antitrust with chinese characteristics

antitrust with chinese characteristics

GLOBAL deals may be growing at a rapid clip,but they seldom offer instant gratification. Qualcomm,...


Read more
china wants to reshape the global oil market

china wants to reshape the global oil market

TRADITIONALLY,to count as an oil power a country had to be a big producer of the black stuff. China...


Read more
dropbox goes public

dropbox goes public

DREW HOUSTON and Arash Ferdowsi must have few regrets since they turned down an offer for their...


Read more
can t hardly wait

can t hardly wait

LIKE teenagers,central bankers long to feel normal. For many of them (the central bankers, that is),...


Read more
the next generation of wireless technology is...

the next generation of wireless technology is...

NORTH KOREAN athletes will not be the only unusual participants at the winter Olympics in...


Read more
telegram s initial coin offering is sought after...

telegram s initial coin offering is sought after...

IN A few years,millions of people will use a messaging app to effect instant payments to friends...


Read more
combustible cigarettes kill millions a year. can...

combustible cigarettes kill millions a year. can...

BESIDE a serene lake in Switzerland sits a modern glass building called the dice. Wide-leafed...


Read more
republicans grouse about tax models they once...

republicans grouse about tax models they once...

THEY have been at this a long time. In 1994 Republicans,newly in charge of Congress, held hearings...


Read more
a welcome upgrade to apprenticeships

a welcome upgrade to apprenticeships

THE Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in South Yorkshire,England, looks like the very...


Read more
china s statistics are bad. many criticisms of...

china s statistics are bad. many criticisms of...

“Our people crave,more than anything else, to know the extent of the nation, and ” says the...


Read more
lawmakers are trying to curb contracts that make...

lawmakers are trying to curb contracts that make...

IN 2011 Kathleen started work at an insurance-and-benefits consultancy in Boston. A couple of years...


Read more
a market design economist wins the john bates...

a market design economist wins the john bates...

Parag Pathak penned a pupil-picker paperBOSTON parents were fed up. To accumulate their children...


Read more
air india is trying to crack down on corruption

air india is trying to crack down on corruption

EVERYONE grumbles approximately the injustices of air travel,but most people assume that the...


Read more
qantas starts flying non stop between australia...

qantas starts flying non stop between australia...

WHEN migration from Europe to Australia first got going in the 19th century,it would assume several...


Read more
the eu wants to tax tech giants  revenues

the eu wants to tax tech giants revenues

IT IS a choice that would make Thomas Hobson proud. European officials this week unveiled plans for...


Read more
corporate citizens of somewhere

corporate citizens of somewhere

WHEN it comes to companies and their passports,there is a flutter of activity in the air—and a...


Read more
google embraces ad blocking via chrome

google embraces ad blocking via chrome

FROM quantum computing and smartphones to self-driving cars,domestic thermostats and delivering the...


Read more
telegram s initial coin offering is hot but...

telegram s initial coin offering is hot but...

IN A few years,millions of people will use a messaging app to make instant payments to friends...


Read more
cancer is a curse, but also a growth market for...

cancer is a curse, but also a growth market for...

CANCER is a grim sort of growth market. By 2030 there will be over 22m fresh cases a year,up from...


Read more
as china gets tough on pollution, will its economy...

as china gets tough on pollution, will its economy...

LEO YAO thought he had nothing to apprehension from the environment ministry. Before,when its...


Read more
bitcoin futures contracts create as many risks as...

bitcoin futures contracts create as many risks as...

OFTEN promoted as a way of mitigating risk,futures contracts are frequently more like recent ways of...


Read more
a regulatory tempest lashes china s markets

a regulatory tempest lashes china s markets

IT IS is the kind of company that for years was a secure bet for investors. China City Construction...


Read more
two more illustrious japanese firms admit to...

two more illustrious japanese firms admit to...

AKIO MORITA,co-founder of Sony, liked to recall his first trip to Germany in 1953, and when a waiter...


Read more
google is fined €4.3bn in the biggest ever...

google is fined €4.3bn in the biggest ever...

“THE making of a big tech reckoning,” blared one typical headline earlier this year. “The case...


Read more
the life insurance industry is in need of new...

the life insurance industry is in need of new...

LIFE insurance is among the oldest financial products. The Amicable Society,founded in London in...


Read more
americans, tired of high priced drugs, are...

americans, tired of high priced drugs, are...

IF ONE concern unites Americans,it is the tall prices of prescription drugs. One incident in...


Read more
wakandanomics

wakandanomics

“THIS will require a quick lesson in global economics…bear with me,” says Erik Killmonger, the...


Read more
at t s merger with time warner goes on trial

at t s merger with time warner goes on trial

AN ANTITRUST trial over AT&T’s $109bn acquisition of Time Warner,which begins on March 19th, will...


Read more
cfius intervenes in broadcom s attempt to buy...

cfius intervenes in broadcom s attempt to buy...

IT WAS only five months ago that President Donald Trump lauded Broadcom,a chipmaker, as “one of...


Read more
president donald trump wants tariffs on steel and...

president donald trump wants tariffs on steel and...

WHEN President Donald Trump tweeted “We want free,fair and SMART TRADE,” on March 1st, or...


Read more
a brawl on a cruise ship raises worries about...

a brawl on a cruise ship raises worries about...

THE cruise industry sells itself as a relaxing way to travel,a world away from the hassle, queues...


Read more
going out need no longer be a headache for...

going out need no longer be a headache for...

BARS and pubs beget not normally been the non-drinkers friend. Knocking back pint after pint of...


Read more
mining firms are dismayed by a new congolese...

mining firms are dismayed by a new congolese...

ROBERT Friedland,the boss of Ivanhoe Mines, a large Canadian firm that digs out copper and zinc in...


Read more
why sub zero interest rates are neither unfair nor...

why sub zero interest rates are neither unfair nor...

DENMARK’S Maritime Museum in Elsinore includes one particularly unappetising exhibit: the...


Read more
the buck drops here

the buck drops here

THERE may have been a “Trump bump” in the stockmarket but the opposite has been genuine in...


Read more
what if the unwashed masses got to vote on...

what if the unwashed masses got to vote on...

ANGLO-SAXON capitalism has had a putrid decade. It is accused of stoking inequality and financial...


Read more
life as you know it is ipover

life as you know it is ipover

DEAR chief executive. First,congratulations. You contain decided to float your firm’s shares on...


Read more
bad loans remain a concern in italy and across...

bad loans remain a concern in italy and across...

ITALY’S next government,a coalition between the populist Five Star Movement and the far-honest...


Read more
why has qatar airways just launched flights to...

why has qatar airways just launched flights to...

WHEN the Gulf carriers trumpet a fresh route,it tends to be one that goes to a major city with an...


Read more
mediapro offers a combustible mix of sport and...

mediapro offers a combustible mix of sport and...

LIKE Jaume Roures and Gerard Romy,two of its founders, Mediapro is proudly Catalan. Too proud, or...


Read more
the eu wants to make finance more environmentally...

the eu wants to make finance more environmentally...

TO GAUGE an issue’s importance,a guest list is a suitable place to start. The one for a conference...


Read more
which firms profit most from america s health care...

which firms profit most from america s health care...

EVERY year America spends approximately $5000 more per person on health care than other rich...


Read more
protectionism may impede delta s expansion plans

protectionism may impede delta s expansion plans

AS AMERICA’S oldest airline still aloft,Delta makes much of its southern roots. At its biggest...


Read more
donald trump mulls restrictions on steel and...

donald trump mulls restrictions on steel and...

TEN months ago the Trump administration took aim at steel and aluminium imports,giving itself a year...


Read more
china s stockmarket plunge: this time it s...

china s stockmarket plunge: this time it s...

A CHINESE new-year message from the American embassy in Beijing looked innocuous. It welcomed the...


Read more
will comcast try to outbid disney for fox?

will comcast try to outbid disney for fox?

WHEN Disney struck a deal just before Christmas to buy much of 21st Century Fox for $66bn,it was a...


Read more
tax reforms prompt upheaval in the private equity...

tax reforms prompt upheaval in the private equity...

IN THE political cacophony surrounding America’s new tax law,the voice of the private-equity...


Read more
how to interpret america s experiment with huge...

how to interpret america s experiment with huge...

“DEFICITS don’t matter,” said Dick Cheney, then the vice-president, or in 2004. He may beget...


Read more
a hamster is the latest victim in the row over...

a hamster is the latest victim in the row over...

THE roster of emotional-support animals that are and are not allowed onto flights in America can...


Read more
insider trading has been rife on wall street,...

insider trading has been rife on wall street,...

The joy of knowledgeINSIDER-TRADING prosecutions gain netted plenty of small fry. But many grumble...


Read more
droughts, storms and global demand tests america s...

droughts, storms and global demand tests america s...

Looking for the last avocadoALTHOUGH original Yorkers are not renowned for their patience,they do...


Read more
bangladesh experiments with a new approach to...

bangladesh experiments with a new approach to...

BESIDES shoes and shrimp,Bangladesh exports poverty cures. Microfinance was developed there in the...


Read more
canada frets about anonymously owned firms

canada frets about anonymously owned firms

WHEN reports surfaced in 2016 of foreign students with no known income buying homes worth millions...


Read more
have yourself a dismal christmas

have yourself a dismal christmas

ONLY an economist would consider to examine whether Christmas is efficient. In 1993 Joel...


Read more
companies in the region vote with their feet...

companies in the region vote with their feet...

Employees,customers, separatists“WE ARE used to dealing with political crises, or but not a...


Read more
why scan reading artificial intelligence is bad...

why scan reading artificial intelligence is bad...

THE better artificial intelligence gets,the greater the well-liked concern that smart machines will...


Read more
development impact bonds are costly,...

development impact bonds are costly,...

IF A girl in a destitute country goes to school,she will probably have a more comfortable life than...


Read more
even stockmarket bulls are more cautious than at...

even stockmarket bulls are more cautious than at...

BEARS sound intelligent; bulls make money. This piece of financial acumen,imparted by a trader to a...


Read more
italy s resilient savers are driving consolidation...

italy s resilient savers are driving consolidation...

THE rumour mill is grinding again. In early 2017 reports swirled of a possible merger between...


Read more
contrition wins the day for uber in a big market

contrition wins the day for uber in a big market

moment chances exist,after all. final September Uber was sideswiped when Transport for London (TfL),...


Read more
vw opens rwanda s first car assembly plant

vw opens rwanda s first car assembly plant

HOW to sell cars when most people can’t afford to buy one? That is the conundrum for Volkswagen in...


Read more
for european firms, resisting american sanctions...

for european firms, resisting american sanctions...

“DONALD TRUMP is the sort of guy who punches you in the face and whether you punch him back,he...


Read more
t mobile and sprint chivvy regulators to bless...

t mobile and sprint chivvy regulators to bless...

JOHN LEGERE,the lion-maned boss of T-Mobile, made his wireless firm the fastest-growing carrier in...


Read more
transparency is being forced on britain s overseas...

transparency is being forced on britain s overseas...

Blue-skies regulationAS BRITAIN’S prime minister between 2010 and 2016,David Cameron championed...


Read more
the flaws of finance

the flaws of finance

BUSINESS school graduates enact not all want to work in investment banking these days. The industry...


Read more
a potential merger between iag and norwegian...

a potential merger between iag and norwegian...

WHEN flag carriers such as British Airways (BA) ruled the skies,only the rich could afford to soar...


Read more
economists understand little about the causes of...

economists understand little about the causes of...

OVER the past decade economists contain been intensely scrutinised for their mental failings in the...


Read more
ukraine convinces ryanair to return

ukraine convinces ryanair to return

nearly one year ago to the day,Ryanair, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, and announced plans to...


Read more
american companies snub the national rifle...

american companies snub the national rifle...

FOR all the controversy that the National Rifle Association (NRA),Americas gun lobby, arouses, and...


Read more
protestantism might be good for the wallet, after...

protestantism might be good for the wallet, after...

Spirit and fleshCAN religion create people wealthier? In 1905 Max Weber,a German sociologist, argued...


Read more
the digital upstarts taking on britain s dominant...

the digital upstarts taking on britain s dominant...

CHRIS MATTHEWS joined Monzo final May. “A friend mentioned it over a curry. Everyone signed up at...


Read more
why drones could pose a greater risk to aircraft...

why drones could pose a greater risk to aircraft...

THE “Miracle on the Hudson”—the successful ditching of a US Airways jetliner into fresh...


Read more
china takes on the eu at the wto

china takes on the eu at the wto

NOT all trade tension is made in America. China is suing the European Union at the World Trade...


Read more
china s largest online publisher enchants...

china s largest online publisher enchants...

WeChat,we readWHENEVER Xu Jie goes to the cinema to watch mystery and detective films, she leaves...


Read more
what is the purpose of tax reform?

what is the purpose of tax reform?

whether MAKING America great again is the aim,you could carry out worse than bring back the economic...


Read more
the case for treating disabled travellers better

the case for treating disabled travellers better

TRAVELLING for work can be expensive,uncomfortable and unpleasant, even for those without a mobility...


Read more
the rich world needs higher real wage growth

the rich world needs higher real wage growth

CENTRAL bankers and economists have spilled much ink in recent years on the question of why wages...


Read more
most stockmarket returns come from a tiny fraction...

most stockmarket returns come from a tiny fraction...

IN his book approximately the exhaust of language,“The King’s English”, Kingsley Amis...


Read more
china considers its response to donald trump s...

china considers its response to donald trump s...

The serried ranksFOR now,at least, when speaking of the trade dispute with America, and China’s...


Read more
another allegation of passenger mistreatment on a...

another allegation of passenger mistreatment on a...

ON MAY 11TH a Nigerian woman filed a lawsuit against United Airlines for removing her and her two...


Read more
european universal banks can succeed. but can...

european universal banks can succeed. but can...

AFTER just 18 days as Deutsche Bank’s chief executive,Christian Sewing had two tasks to perform on...


Read more
the world s first neighbourhood built  from the...

the world s first neighbourhood built from the...

QUAYSIDE,a 12-acre (4.8-hectare) stretch of flood-prone land on Toronto’s eastern waterfront, is...


Read more
america s chemicals industry is booming. but...

america s chemicals industry is booming. but...

“THIS is what $3bn looks like.” So beams a manager at Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPC),a...


Read more
america s once moribund chemicals industry is...

america s once moribund chemicals industry is...

“THIS is what $3bn looks like.” So beams a manager at Chevron Phillips Chemical (CPC),a...


Read more
british law firms seek similar across the pond

british law firms seek similar across the pond

MOST of London’s “magic-circle” law firms are intrepid (brave in the face of danger)...


Read more
how developing countries weave social safety nets

how developing countries weave social safety nets

SOUP kitchens serve the needy for free; restaurants serve the hungry for money. In parts of South...


Read more
we have seen the future and it twerks

we have seen the future and it twerks

CYNTHIA NIXON is the latest celebrity to run for office in America; the “Sex and the City” star...


Read more
li ka shing cedes a sprawling empire to his son

li ka shing cedes a sprawling empire to his son

“TOO long” was how Li Ka-shing,known fondly by locals as chiu yan (Superman) for his commerce...


Read more
hong kong and singapore succumb to the lure of...

hong kong and singapore succumb to the lure of...

FOR Charles Li,Alibaba was the one that got absent. The head of the Hong Kong stock exchange (HKEX)...


Read more
jerome powell 039;s game of kerplunk

jerome powell 039;s game of kerplunk

THERE is an dilapidated children's game called Kerplunk. It is similar in concept to Jenga....


Read more
the rapid rise and fall of the anbang empire

the rapid rise and fall of the anbang empire

RARELY in corporate history has a giant come and gone so quickly. Anbang was founded in 2004 as a...


Read more
a banking centre seeks to reinvent itself

a banking centre seeks to reinvent itself

ON A clear day,sunset over Lake Zug is magnificent. Snow-dusted mountains cut through the orange...


Read more
the best—and worst—places to be a working...

the best—and worst—places to be a working...

“PRESS for progress” is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8th. As...


Read more
how microcredit can help poor countries after...

how microcredit can help poor countries after...

Small pots of liquidityBOTH,in different ways, worry about liquidity. And global warming may, or...


Read more
europe s sprawling new financial law enters into...

europe s sprawling new financial law enters into...

AFTER years of rule-drafting,industry lobbying and plenty of last-minute wrangling, Europe’s...


Read more
new research reveals simmering misunderstanding...

new research reveals simmering misunderstanding...

IS THERE any other time of year when good intentions and materialism converge so tightly? The...


Read more
russia s dysfunctional funeral business gets a...

russia s dysfunctional funeral business gets a...

Stiffer competition is comingTHE calls began shortly after Yulia’s grandmother died. The...


Read more
countries rarely default on their debts

countries rarely default on their debts

VENEZUELA is an strange country. It is domestic to the world’s largest reserves of oil and its...


Read more
video games could fall foul of anti gambling laws

video games could fall foul of anti gambling laws

Four-sided banditA DECADE ago the idea of paying real money for virtual items was unusual and...


Read more
as wto members meet in argentina, the organisation...

as wto members meet in argentina, the organisation...

“EVERYBODY meets in Buenos Aires, said Cecilia Malmstrom, the European Union’s trade...


Read more
india s new bankruptcy code takes aim at...

india s new bankruptcy code takes aim at...

A SMOOTH bankruptcy process is akin to reincarnation: a company at death’s door gets to shuffle...


Read more
how to spot the next crisis

how to spot the next crisis

WHILE the world of geopolitics looks as risky as ever,the markets seem to go on their sweet way,...


Read more
regulators begin to tackle the craze for initial...

regulators begin to tackle the craze for initial...

“I’M GONNA make a $hit t$n of money on August 2nd on the Stox.com ICO.” Written in July on...


Read more
move fast and break things review - google,...

move fast and break things review - google,...

Jonathan Taplin reveals how just three companies subverted the internet’s utopian idealsThe...


Read more
glencore faces a doj probe stretching from africa...

glencore faces a doj probe stretching from africa...

IT EMERGED on July 2nd that Hollywood may produce “The King of Oil”,a film about Marc Rich, an...


Read more
the american president is stirring up trouble in a...

the american president is stirring up trouble in a...

IT USED to be said that America’s shale producers were the novel swing factor” in global oil...


Read more
fighting the resource curse through online gaming

fighting the resource curse through online gaming

ALAIN LILLE is not pleased. His wildcat oil firm spent a fortune looking for oil in Petronia,a...


Read more
the changing world of work

the changing world of work

“MONEY often costs too much,” quipped Ralph Waldo Emerson. But a new study suggests that since...


Read more
dear oil helps some emerging economies and harms...

dear oil helps some emerging economies and harms...

When they are not fretting about the American dollar or Chinese debt,policymakers in emerging...


Read more
a wto ruling on aircraft subsidies raises the risk...

a wto ruling on aircraft subsidies raises the risk...

THE manufacture of airliners may be the world’s most globalised industry. Only two firms make...


Read more
a storm breaks around airasia s boss

a storm breaks around airasia s boss

“YOU only possess one vote so use it wisely,” advised the captain of a lunchtime AirAsia flight...


Read more
a canadian startup applies machine learning to...

a canadian startup applies machine learning to...

WITH the exception of a few governments stout enough to run their own auctions,anyone wishing to...


Read more
a bondholder finds a sneaky way to trigger...

a bondholder finds a sneaky way to trigger...

IN 2013 Codere,a Spanish gaming firm, owed money it could not repay. Its bonds were trading at just...


Read more
a startup in paris is scaling up unusually fast

a startup in paris is scaling up unusually fast

IT WAS not the sort of enact-it-yourself activity that Castorama,a French domestic-improvement...


Read more
japan s bloated retail banks need to downsize

japan s bloated retail banks need to downsize

SWEEP past the cash machines at the Sumitomo Mitsui bank in Tokyo’s Sangenjaya shopping district...


Read more
the euro area s economy loses momentum

the euro area s economy loses momentum

ECONOMISTS have spent the past decade wringing their hands over the health of the euro area’s...


Read more
some american startups are borrowing ideas from...

some american startups are borrowing ideas from...

Hipster Hells Angel“WHEN you enter [the marketplace] with that level of hubris and arrogance,you...


Read more
japanese e commerce giant rakuten struggles to...

japanese e commerce giant rakuten struggles to...

RAKUTEN is a jack-of-all-trades. Since pioneering e-commerce in Japan in 1997,it has been a rare...


Read more
the proxy voting season kicks off on wall street

the proxy voting season kicks off on wall street

JING ZHAO’S main occupation is translating Latin classics into Chinese. He runs a small...


Read more
catching the bitcoin bug

catching the bitcoin bug

SINCE the heady days of late 2017 and January of this year,crypto-currencies possess gone into...


Read more
insurance and the gig economy

insurance and the gig economy

THE rise of the gig economy means not only workers,but those who insure them, are having to adapt....


Read more
wall street looks overvalued

wall street looks overvalued

FEW measures of stockmarket valuation are as controversial as the cyclically adjusted price-earnings...


Read more
a primer on blockchain based versions of central...

a primer on blockchain based versions of central...

BITCOIN,Ethereum, XRP, or Stellar,Cardano: the infant world of cryptocurrencies is already...


Read more
do credit booms foretell emerging market crises?

do credit booms foretell emerging market crises?

ON THE morning of December 7th 1941,George Elliott Junior noticed “the largest blip” he had ever...


Read more
an arcane business structure loses its charm

an arcane business structure loses its charm

WHEN British soapmakers merged with Dutch margarine merchants to form Unilever in 1929,the logic was...


Read more
an attempt to revise the dodd frank act reaches a...

an attempt to revise the dodd frank act reaches a...

AFTER 25 hearings,thousands of pages of comments and many unworkable bipartisan working groups,...


Read more
a pharmaceutical firm bets big on a cancer drug

a pharmaceutical firm bets big on a cancer drug

WHEN Ken Frazier,chief executive of Merck, an American pharmaceutical giant, and started his job in...


Read more
economists cannot avoid making value judgments

economists cannot avoid making value judgments

AMID the name-calling and bluster that mar many fights between economists are a few common tactics....


Read more
why low returns are inevitable

why low returns are inevitable

WHEN the stockmarket is close to a record high,the chances are that recent returns will have been...


Read more
japanese businesses are struggling to keep up...

japanese businesses are struggling to keep up...

KUMIKO HIRANO has noticed a disquieting change when she goes to her neighbourhood konbini,one of...


Read more
bitcoin and its rivals offer no shelter from the...

bitcoin and its rivals offer no shelter from the...

THE “biggest bubble in human history comes down crashing,” tweeted Nouriel Roubini, an...


Read more
wells fargo suffers a rare punishment—a cap on...

wells fargo suffers a rare punishment—a cap on...

ON HER way out,Janet Yellen, who stood down as the Federal Reserve’s chair on February 2nd, or...


Read more
some hotels charge visitors for bad reviews

some hotels charge visitors for bad reviews

TRAVELLERS have grown accustomed to annoying hidden fees,from the baggage charges that bring...


Read more
ge s flow of financial information has become...

ge s flow of financial information has become...

IN THEIR documentary “The Vietnam War,Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, the directors, or dwell on the...


Read more
a bond dispute threatens the future of islamic...

a bond dispute threatens the future of islamic...

STOCKMARKETS in the Gulf do not observe Christian holidays,but still had a generally quiet day on...


Read more
what 2018 has in store for the markets

what 2018 has in store for the markets

WHAT is in store for economies and markets in 2018? Around this time of year,a large number of...


Read more
donald trump holds off hitting the gulf carriers...

donald trump holds off hitting the gulf carriers...

WHEN Donald Trump became Americas president nearly a year ago,lobbyists campaigning for protection...


Read more
western companies are getting creative with their...

western companies are getting creative with their...

MCDONALD’S drew ridicule in China when it changed its registered name there to Jingongmen,or...


Read more
african countries are building a giant free trade...

african countries are building a giant free trade...

“AFRICA must unite,” wrote Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, or in 1963,lamenting that...


Read more
europe s banks face a glut of new rules

europe s banks face a glut of new rules

FOR those oddballs whose hearts sing at the thought of bank regulation,Europe is a pretty...


Read more
proposed changes to frequent flyer programmes may...

proposed changes to frequent flyer programmes may...

ALONGSIDE Eurocrats,straight bananas and anyone who opposes Brexit, Britain's tabloid press has...


Read more
fiat chrysler appoints a new boss

fiat chrysler appoints a new boss

THE question of who would replace Sergio Marchionne has been in the air for a year or more,ever...


Read more
universities withstood moocs but risk being...

universities withstood moocs but risk being...

“THERE’S only two things you do in the navy,” says Vice-Admiral Al Harms, former commander of...


Read more
vanadium is the latest beneficiary of the battery...

vanadium is the latest beneficiary of the battery...

Going with the flowOPEN a toolbox,pull out a spanner and you may be holding a bit of the answer to...


Read more
why the euro zone hasn t seen more cross border...

why the euro zone hasn t seen more cross border...

MERGERS of euro-area banks from different countries,a banker jokes, are “very much like teenage...


Read more
china s new $15bn tech fund emulates softbank s...

china s new $15bn tech fund emulates softbank s...

THE memoir of China Merchants Group began in the 1870s. After its defeats in the Opium wars,the Qing...


Read more
the growth of index investing has not made markets...

the growth of index investing has not made markets...

IN THE autumn of 1974 Paul Samuelson,a prominent economist and Nobel prizewinner, issued a...


Read more
why foreigners are keen buyers of chinese...

why foreigners are keen buyers of chinese...

IN MAY 1945 John Maynard Keynes wrote a memo on the post-war economy. In it he argued that Britain...


Read more
china starts easing monetary policy. or does it?

china starts easing monetary policy. or does it?

CHINESE investors often refer in jest to the central bank as central mama”. The plan is that it...


Read more
how an algorithm may decide your career

how an algorithm may decide your career

WANT a job with a successful multinational? You will face lots of competition. Two years ago Goldman...


Read more
what is an audit for?

what is an audit for?

AUDITS get noticed only when things proceed improper. final week British MPs issued a scathing...


Read more
who will be the main loser from europe s new data...

who will be the main loser from europe s new data...

“PLEASE don’t leave us.” From the dozens of e-mails in people’s inboxes,begging them to give...


Read more
american shale oil producers are on a roll

american shale oil producers are on a roll

JUST over a year ago Harold Hamm,billionaire boss of Continental Resources, one of the biggest...


Read more
the case against the at t time warner deal has...

the case against the at t time warner deal has...

So last seasonNEAR the end of the antitrust trial over AT&T’s $109bn acquisition of Time...


Read more
one of france s best known tycoons is arrested

one of france s best known tycoons is arrested

“THIS port is for the Togolese,” says Sherif Tchedre, a mechanic standing among containers that...


Read more
tax cuts and higher interest rates help boost...

tax cuts and higher interest rates help boost...

SO THIS is how normality feels. Between April 13th and April 18th America’s biggest banks reported...


Read more
america s treasury refrains from naming any...

america s treasury refrains from naming any...

MOST governments are elated (full of high-spirited delight) when foreigners want their...


Read more
tesla is heading for a cash crunch

tesla is heading for a cash crunch

“WE ARE sad to report that Tesla has gone totally and totally bankrupt.” So tweeted Elon...


Read more
getting a handle on a scandal

getting a handle on a scandal

A accepted riff doing the rounds in tech circles is that,whether data are the new oil, then...


Read more
airlines in america are in a race to improve their...

airlines in america are in a race to improve their...

IN THE 1950swhen the International Air Transport Association (IATA),a cartel of airlines, used to...


Read more
why china is swooping on georgia s airline...

why china is swooping on georgia s airline...

IN ANCIENT times,traders on the Silk Road connecting China with Europe rarely ventured into the...


Read more
ericsson and nokia are now direct rivals. how do...

ericsson and nokia are now direct rivals. how do...

“SUCCESS is toxic”,says Risto Siilasmaa, Nokia’s chairman, and as snowflakes swirl in the wind...


Read more
inside warren buffett s deal machine

inside warren buffett s deal machine

SOME things approximately Warren Buffett never change,including his non-stop jokes, eminent annual...


Read more
how digitisation is paying for dbs

how digitisation is paying for dbs

MOST banks gush about digital technology,fearing all the while that some born-digital usurper, large...


Read more