Bloomberg Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition plans face a make-or-break vote this weekend as the Social Democrats decide whether to help usher in her fourth term or walk away from government and risk pushing Europe’s biggest economy further into political uncertainty. Germany’s oldest political party is split over its future direction, and those divisions will play out at a national convention ...

Bloomberg The leadership of South Africa’s ruling party decided that President Jacob Zuma must leave office but didn’t set a time-frame for his exit, according to six senior party officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The newly-elected top six leaders of the party will manage the transition that will concentrate power in the hands of his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, ...

UNITED NATIONS / Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Iran nuclear deal cannot survive if the United States pulls out of the agreement. US President Donald Trump said a week ago that European allies and Congress have to work with him to fix “the disastrous flaws” in the nuclear pact or face a US exit. Trump wants it ...

Call them the new millionaires. Once upon a time — certainly within living memory — becoming a millionaire was a big deal. It was a badge of economic distinction, enjoyed by a tiny elite. No more. By 2016, slightly more than 9 million US households had a net worth of $1 million or more, according to new calculations by economist ...

Everyone is still trying to sort out the implications of Facebook Inc.’s news feed reboot announced last week. One thing I’m wondering about: Why hasn’t Facebook taken the hatchet to the “like” button? Mark Zuckerberg says he wants more “meaningful social interactions” on Facebook. He doesn’t want people to spend so much time scrolling around aimlessly on Facebook or otherwise ...

It’s ‘seismic.’ At first glance, last month’s 52 percent decline in the number of job openings in London’s financial industry looks dramatic. In Brexit there’s an easy bogeyman to blame. But the picture isn’t so clear. Take the survey that recruiting firm Morgan McKinley, from which that figure comes. You need to adjust it for seasonality: December is never a ...

The depreciation of the dollar was one of the market surprises of 2017, defying the predictions of many analysts and economists at the start of that year. Continued weakness in 2018 has led some, including European officials, to warn about possible detrimental effects on growth. They are highlighting what may be thought of as the foreign exchange markets’ “hot potato” ...

Bitcoin breaks my heart. Not because I missed the great run-up (though I did) and not because I fear that the bitcoin bubble will end badly (it will, but that’s not my problem). Rather, it is because I have been waiting for decades for someone to invent a purely digital currency, a currency for online purchases that wasn’t linked to ...

This is going to be an exciting year for monetary policy. In fact, it already is, thanks to Europe and Japan. Investors were taken aback last week when the Bank of Japan bought fewer bonds and the European Central Bank revealed — shock, horror — its language would have to evolve with the euro region’s economy. Both developments, and the ...

For all the talk of cleaning up its supply chain, too many stories keep popping up about poor working conditions and excessive overtime. Every year at around this time, Apple makes a song and dance about how much it cares for workers and the environment. Fans point out that Cupertino is doing far more than most others in the industry, ...