Opinion

For many retailers, the final three months of the year are traditionally known as the Golden Quarter, when non-food shops make the bulk of their profits. The period this year will be far from sparkling — unless you are Amazon.com Inc. The online retailer is poised to be one of few winners from the UK government’s decision to impose a ...

As Europe struggles with the second wave of the virus and faces a new round of lockdowns, governments and businesses must ask themselves whether people will cope with more restrictions as well as they have striven to do so far. For many white-collar workers, the pandemic has already made remote work the new normal. But for all of its advantages, ...

Covid-19 vaccines may not arrive quite as soon as people hoped. An October surprise didn’t happen, there will be no vaccine by Election Day, and even Thanksgiving might be pushing it. Front-runner Pfizer Inc’s oft-repeated suggestion that it might have vaccine data by Halloween was wrong, and Anthony Fauci now suggests an immunisation might not be available on even a ...

Just before the US election, speculation is rife as to whether a Joe Biden victory might herald a big leftward shift, or what kind of chaos a second term for President Donald Trump would bring. The immediate task for either president, however, is likely to be more mundane and less ideological — and guaranteed to displease most Americans. The issue ...

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc just served up one highly caffeinated deal that will give its stock price a jolt. The Canton, Massachusetts-based coffee chain is selling itself to Inspire Brands for $106.50 a share, a 26% premium to its 20-day trading average before talks between the two sides were made public. The deal values Dunkin’ at $11.3 billion including debt, ...

In “The Godfather,” the book that inspired a generation of corporate boardroom warriors, Michael Corleone dismisses his trusted friend Tom Hagen as an adviser to his family. “Mike, why am I out?” the mystified Hagen asks. “You’re not a wartime consigliere,” Corleone responds. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has the opposite problem. In Dominic Cummings, his chief of staff, he ...

In less than a month, two unusual things happened at the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). First, it no longer required banks to set aside cash if clients wanted to short the yuan. This makes betting against the currency cheaper, and allows room for the yuan to weaken. Second, the PBOC removed the so-called counter-cyclical factor, one of the three ...

As Election Day nears, the possibility of a disputed presidential election is worrying a lot of people. You’ve heard the scenarios: An embittered Donald Trump loses but refuses to leave the Oval Office. An embittered Joe Biden loses but refuses to concede. Absentee ballots that arrive after November 3 aren’t counted. Or they are counted. The angry left takes to ...

Bumper harvests and healthy stockpiles coming into 2020 have helped the world dodge the worst of food-security worries triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Staples have been plentiful enough — and oil cheap enough — to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2008 crisis, and supply lines have held. Nutrition has suffered anyway. That’s the result of migrant labourers being kept home, ...

The housing market is booming. Is this another indication that the recovery from the Pandemic Recession is complete for the rich, while low-income households are left behind? No, it isn’t. It’s primarily driven by the usual suspects in any market: supply and demand. But serious challenges are looming for low-income homeowners. Expect a wave of foreclosures in 2021. A slew ...