Opinion

Wise old market heads often remark that the bond market rarely lies and it often leads the stock market. This is particularly apposite at the moment, with too much cash kicking about and forcing bond, house and equity prices ever higher — infinite money chasing finite assets. It is putting the Federal Reserve in something of a dilemma: It has ...

The US labour market holds the key to the inflation outlook and the timing of the withdrawal of monetary policy accommodation. After all, it is pressure on resources that ultimately leads to persistent inflation. If workers are in chronic short supply, wage inflation climbs and that usually feeds through into prices. In contrast, supply disruptions typically get resolved with time. ...

China is the first noticeable crack in the Covid-19 recovery. The only major economy to show any growth at all last year, the country is now taking steps to ease monetary policy — just when the Federal Reserve is beginning to lay the groundwork to taper asset purchases. A significant slowing of its expansion might give other commercial powers pause ...

Japan, the country that gave us the word “karoshi” for “death from overwork,” is thinking about introducing an optional four-day workweek. The idea has also come up in Iceland, New Zealand, Spain and other places. It’s in fact so obvious, some wise people in the past would be gobsmacked to learn that we’re only just starting to talk about it ...

Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuits against Twitter, Google and Facebook for kicking him off their platforms are sure losers, legally speaking. The First Amendment protects people against state action, and tech companies aren’t state actors. Yet Trump’s main argument to the contrary — that congressional Democrats coerced the platforms into cutting him off by threatening to repeal Section 230 of ...

Within the next fortnight two of the Earth’s wealthiest individuals will attempt to fly into space. Richard Branson’s flight on Sunday aboard a Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc spaceship will be followed by Jeff Bezos’s rocket trip with Blue Origin LLC on July 20. In a summer not lacking in awe-inspiring spectator sports, this rivalry remains pretty unique. And it’s not ...

It’s time for Britain’s largest retailer to start the mother of all price wars. Tesco Plc has the perfect opportunity to slash prices on everything from milk to mushrooms — and lure customers away from competitors. With one big rival, Asda Group Ltd, in private equity hands, and a second, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc, potentially following suit, Tesco CEO Ken ...

As the Covid-19 pandemic recedes across much of the US, the difference between the lasting and temporary changes that it wrought are starting to emerge. Hype and wishful thinking have contributed to predictions that are likely to prove wrong; just because a change was striking or desirable doesn’t mean it will stick. One way to think about the changes is ...

The assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise has plunged the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country even deeper into chaos. As its richest and most powerful neighbour, the US should lead outside efforts to help — while being under no illusions about the limits of what’s possible. Haiti’s dysfunction has long resisted outsiders’ efforts. The US has provided more than $5 billion ...

Investors who recently bought into multi-billion-dollar Chinese tech listings in the US may have thought they’d be enjoying the riches of some of the most hotly anticipated IPOs of the year. Instead, they’re staring at headlines churn about Beijing-led regulatory probes and watching their gains vanish. It’s a glaring example that the types of risks once relegated to boilerplate language, ...