Opinion

US President Donald Trump is furious at Germany for many reasons, not all of them fathomable. In phone conversations with Angela Merkel, he’s allegedly called the German chancellor “stupid” and denigrated her in “near-sadistic” tones. Though this be madness, as the Bard might say, there is — on rare occasions — method in it. One such case is Nord Stream ...

A lot of Americans aren’t taking Covid-19 seriously. They aren’t wearing masks. They aren’t social distancing. They aren’t staying home. That’s one reason that the number of cases is spiking in the South and West. The problem is especially serious in Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, North Carolina, California, Tennessee and Texas, which are reporting the highest numbers of hospitalisations since ...

Land seizures. Dangerous working conditions. Mistreatment of native populations. For decades, such practices were associated in the public mind with the oil and gas industries. That perception in turn undermined confidence in fossil fuels and, as climate change worsened, helped set the stage for a widespread boom in the renewable-energy business. Now that business is itself under scrutiny — and ...

In late March, Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock, Britain’s portly prime minister and its slender health secretary, both contracted Covid-19. Hancock had a mild case and was back to work a week later. Johnson was lucky to come out alive after a spell in intensive care. Ever since then he has been on a mission. Johnson believes that being overweight ...

Back when Tesla Inc delivered 95,000 cars to customers during the spring quarter of 2019, the stock price was languishing at about $235 and Elon Musk’s electric car company was valued at “only” $40 billion. Fast forward a year and the shares are now priced at more than $1,200. With a market capitalisation of $224 billion, Tesla has surpassed Toyota ...

The national security law China imposed on Hong Kong will damage civil liberties with long jail sentences and grant immunity to Chinese agents working in the territory. For investors who depend on the city as a financial center, though, there may be an extra sting in the tail. The law could increase self-censorship by Hong Kong’s analysts and economists, and ...

Deutsche Bank AG is lining up to buy a piece of history — a remnant of scandal-ridden Wirecard AG. It’s not the only one sniffing around. But however many expressions of interest there may be, and however credible the buyers, the proceeds from selling off even the best assets of the German payments company will be tiny relative to the ...

After a week of voting, with plenty of inducements to get people to the polls, Russians have backed constitutional changes that could keep President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin longer than Josef Stalin. With most precincts now counted, the Central Election Commission says 78% of voters came out in favour and turnout was 65%. It’s almost too impressive — given ...

You probably need only look inside your own pantry to have some idea of what a blockbuster spring it has been for the packaged food industry. General Mills Inc reported that organic sales, a measure that excludes currency fluctuations and other factors, shot up 16% in the quarter from a year earlier as people loaded up on Gold Medal flour, ...

While a world awash in a pandemic awaits a coronavirus vaccine, Gilead Sciences is bringing a treatment to market. Remdesivir is an experimental drug that may help Covid-19 patients recover more quickly — but it doesn’t immunise them. Its price tag is $600 for a series of six treatments for patients who live in developing countries where Gilead, to its ...