Opinion

Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy is being heralded as a new leader for Europe in the post-Angela Merkel era. With German politics in the deep freeze and France’s Emmanuel Macron facing presidential elections, Draghi, who’s credited with saving the euro with three words, looks like an unequalled pair of safe hands. To get an idea of why Europe’s elites ...

Long a source of resilience in the world economy, China joins the list of vulnerabilities that threaten to upset a shaky recovery. The slowdown in Chinese growth, exacerbated by debt crises in the property sector and an energy shortage that is closing factories, makes the global rebound even more dependent on the US Beijing doesn’t look like it’s ready to ...

Executives from Barclays Plc, BlackRock Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and other big names in finance will gather with hundreds of investors at a UK summit on October 19 to extol the virtues of green investment and fighting climate change. But how many of these leaders are directly and personally invested in cutting emissions or cleaning up portfolios through their ...

Don’t look now, but the worst may be over for the supply-chain snarls that have plagued shipments of everything from Coca-Cola Co ingredients to paint, toys and industrial fasteners. Average ocean freight rates have declined for three straight weeks. A composite index of global container prices has fallen back under $10,000 for a 40-foot box for the first time since ...

Texas Governor Greg Abbott wouldn’t want you to mistake his push to forbid private companies and others from issuing vaccine mandates as just another attempt to court conservative voters or tee up a White House bid. His executive order seeking to ban mandates in his state plainly says it’s part of a larger plan “aimed at protecting the health and ...

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many unforeseen consequences, and right now we may be approaching one of the biggest: the possible neutering of the green energy movement. Prices of fossil fuels are rising sharply, and most of the world is responding by trying to get those prices back down again. Voters might end up bitterly opposed to ever seeing ...

One day in Korea in 1951, a puzzled American soldier peered at a sign above the entrance to a British base, which proclaimed “Britannia Camp.” He quizzed an officer, pointing upwards: “Whaddoes that mean?” Major Gerald Rickord said: “Haven’t you ever heard of Britannia Rules the Waves?” The American said: “That’s a bit out of date, isn’t it?” This encounter ...

Don’t count on that Black Friday bargain. This holiday season, stores won’t be competing on price — the battleground will be availability. With shoppers buoyant (for now), there’s little need to simulate demand, while supply shortages and higher shipping and labour costs will push retailers to protect margins. That all adds up to fewer doorbusters. Already there’s evidence that deals ...

There’s no one to deliver the pizzas. Shares of Domino’s Pizza Inc initially fell after the largest pizza company in the world posted its first decline in US same-store sales in more than a decade. These results came as a shock to analysts and investors, who were expecting continued growth while the pandemic supercharges demand for takeout and delivery meals. ...

On October 1, the 930-passenger Zhao Shang Yidun (or China Merchants Eden) departed from Shenzhen on an eight-day “Charming South China Sea” cruise. It’s a landmark voyage, and not just because it transits one of the world’s most hotly disputed waterways. The ship, jointly operated by Viking Cruises Ltd and state-owned China Merchants Group, is the first five-star luxury ship ...