Opinion

As mankind puts the world’s largest living structure at risk, economists have come up with a new solution: put a price tag on it. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is bigger than Japan, visible from space and one of the most complex ecosystems on earth. But it’s also under siege from climate change, agricultural runoff, coastal development and illegal fishing. Debate …

A London tribunal’s ruling last week that Uber drivers aren’t self-employed was hailed as a victory by the company’s critics. The court upheld an earlier finding that Uber resorted to “fictions” and “twisted language” in denying its obligations as an employer, and that its claim to be a service linking 30,000 small businesses to their customers was “faintly ridiculous.” Clear …

Germany is widely seen as a world leader in the fight against climate change. Thanks to its investments in renewable power, wind and solar energy provide a third of its electricity, more than double the US share. Germany’s goal to lower carbon-dioxide emissions 40 percent by 2020 is significantly more ambitious than that of Europe as a whole or the …

As New Delhi suffers through a surge in the most harmful type of smog—a toxic stew that makes India’s capital one of the most polluted in the world—Beijing offers lessons in how another troubled city made progress clearing the air. China, which for more than a decade has been the world’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, has made its capital …

If he doesn’t already, Narendra Modi should start believing in Santa Claus. For the Prime Minister, whose party faces an important poll in Modi’s home state next month, the one-notch rating bump to Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service is an early Christmas present. More importantly, the rationale for the upgrade cites two of his most destabilizing measures of the past …

For 30 years China has recycled more cardboard boxes, plastic bottles and old computers than any other nation. By doing so, it’s saved millions of tons of resources and indirectly funded thousands of recycling programs and companies globally. But now it wants to stop. In July, China notified the World Trade Organisation that it will soon prohibit the import of …

American and other securities firms scored what looks like a big win when China announced new rules allowing them to own 51% stakes in joint ventures. It’s just the sort of market-opening move President Donald Trump was seeking on his first trip as president to Beijing. Except Trump didn’t know it was coming. He didn’t even ask for it in …

How to make HK$700,000 ($90,000) in one day? It’s not as hard as you might think: More than 250 investors just did exactly that by buying into China Literature Ltd.’s initial public offering. IPOs are hot again in Hong Kong, underpinned by the enthusiasm of individual punters. The retail portion of China Literature’s sale was more than 600 times oversubscribed, …

Ride-hailing companies like Uber Technologies Inc. will see demand boom between now and 2040, hobbling global auto sales growth, according to a new study from IHS Markit. As a growing number of consumers turn to ride-hailing in shared cars that rack up more miles than personal ones, new light-vehicle sales growth will slow to a crawl. The mobility-as-a-service industry will …

The 11 governments that appear to have saved the Trans-Pacific Partnership deserve credit for persevering after President Donald Trump withdrew the US from their ambitious free-trade pact. They’ll deserve even more praise if they resolve to take the agreement further. South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines aren’t yet members — but all have expressed interest in taking part. …