Bloomberg Chinese private soybean processors purchased about five cargoes from the US this week, according to people familiar with the deals, less than what was expected by the market. The private crushers in the world’s biggest soybean importer bought the cargoes for December and January shipment, said the people, who asked to not be identified as the matter is private. ...

Bloomberg Ucommune, the largest rival to WeWork in China, plans an initial public offering in the US in December even as the better-known competitor still recovers from its botched IPO, according to people familiar with the matter. The first-time share sale of the Chinese office-sharing provider could raise about $100 million, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing ...

Bloomberg Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd’s shares fell by the most in more than a month after China’s securities regulator opened a probe into alleged misconduct by its billionaire vice chairman. The investigation, announced in a filing, deals another blow to the surveillance giant that’s blacklisted by Washington. The Chinese seller of video cameras said the China Securities Regulatory ...

It’s no secret that we live in an era of so-called “superstar” firms — the Facebooks, Apples and Microsofts of the world. As monopolies and oligopolies, they dominate their industries and generate enormous profits. Initially hailed for their technological achievements, they’re now accused (amazingly) of creating a drag on US economic growth. Could it be? The notion seems counterintuitive. New ...

It’s not quite a stitch-up — you’d need the state to be a big shareholder for that to apply. But the $4 billion takeover of tech consultancy Altran Technologies SA by domestic peer Capgemini SE looks like an attempt to build a French champion without giving the target’s shareholders a good price. With activist-in-chief Elliott Management Corp. siding with minority ...

Jack Ma is riding high. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the company he founded, has won approval to forge ahead with a Hong Kong share sale that could raise at least $10 billion. On November 11, China’s largest e-commerce company logged more than $38.3 billion of purchases during its annual Singles’ Day shopping event, a new record. The rest of China’s ...

The island of Tsushima, halfway between Japan and South Korea, is about as close as you can get to the frontline of their trade war. Now part of Nagasaki prefecture, waves of Korean cultural, commercial and military influence have crested and receded over the hills of this verdant island since the Middle Ages. Here it’s apparent that centuries-old ties between ...

When times are good, focus on the top line and the bottom line will look after itself. When times are bad, you should do the reverse. That looks a lot like the strategy the world’s biggest miner, BHP Group, has followed over the years in appointing its chief executive officers. The question the resources sector should ask in looking at ...

New research from the Federal Reserve’s own economists reveal that estimates of the neutral real rate of interest are well below those of policy makers. The low estimates have important implications for policy makers and market participants, suggesting the Fed may still have some hawkish expectations of what can be accomplished in the future despite its dovish turn this year. ...

For Kumar Mangalam Birla’s textile-to-telecom empire, adversity is a 100-year-old companion. In 1919, when the Indian businessman’s great-grandfather wanted to start a jute mill, the dominant British firm, Andrew Yule & Co., bought all the surrounding Calcutta land. The Imperial Bank, the forerunner of today’s State Bank of India, initially refused Birla a loan. The government of post-independence India stymied ...