By ordering Apple to pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, the European Union has created a somewhat farcical situation. Ireland doesn’t want the money, which amounts to more than four months’ tax revenue for the small nation, and the U.S., where the iPhone maker is headquartered, is on the tax-avoidant company’s side. European Competition ...

  One of the big debates in health care right now is whether to create a public option for health insurance. Most observers of Obamacare agree that the big problem is private insurers pulling out of health-care exchanges. That leaves smaller states with only one or two insurers participating, which kills competition in insurance markets and raises costs. Although there ...

  It’s been a tough summer for China’s movie business. In what’s usually blockbuster season, box-office sales declined for the first time in five years. In July alone, theater visits fell 15 percent. Things are looking especially grim for Chinese films: They’ve been underperforming foreign competition so badly that the government suspended a longstanding moratorium on summer Hollywood flicks intended ...

  The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and European Union (EU) has apparently been hit by trust deficit and there are signs that will be dragged out. Germany and France have showed a joint front to oppose the proposed deal as it stands today. The most stinging remark came from France’s junior trade minister Matthias Fekl, ...

  I argued last week that the high cost of housing in cities such as New York and San Francisco has a bright side for the larger U.S. economy: As people who would like to live in these highly desirable but dauntingly expensive areas are priced out, they choose instead to settle in upwardly mobile communities that benefit from the ...

  Ma Bell came back from the grave Monday, saving AT&T from the supervision of the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC had sued the company for intentionally “throttling” the mobile internet for its unlimited data customers when they passed a certain usage. A federal appeals court rejected the suit on the ground that as a common carrier, AT&T is exempt ...

  In early August, Japan’s Coast Guard witnessed an unconventional Chinese assault on its territorial waters. According to Japanese officials I met with last week, at least 300 Chinese “fishing vessels” began incursions into the exclusive economic zone around the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, disputed territory administered by Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan as well. Japan has seen similar ...

Bloomberg European stock markets diverged on Wednesday with traders reacting to mixed regional data ahead of key US jobs numbers due later in the week. Around 1030 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was 0.3 percent lower. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.2 percent and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent compared with the close on Tuesday. ...

  Dubai / Reuters Gulf stock markets diverged in early trade on Wednesday, with Qatar’s edging lower and Dubai’s gaining slightly. Qatar’s index slipped 0.3 percent after closing higher in four of the last five sessions. After the close on Wednesday, FTSE is expected to release a list of Qatari stocks to be included in its emerging market index from ...

  London / AFP Oil fell further on Wednesday as dealers awaited the latest update on crude reserves in the United States. At around 1145 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in October declined 36 cents at $45.99 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for October lost 54 cents to $47.83 a barrel compared with the close on ...