Opinion

The house of HNA Group Co. may be no more, bringing an end to the dramatic rise and fall of one of the biggest buyers of global assets in recent years. It was about time. The Chinese government is planning to take over the airline-to-insurance-to-property conglomerate that splashed out over $40 billion in recent years to buy assets including stakes ...

Hong Kong’s home prices have proved resilient to months of protests and now the coronavirus epidemic, a one-two punch that the city’s finance chief likened over the weekend to “tsunami-like” shocks. While a hit is probably coming, the world’s least affordable housing market still looks a better place to be than in Hong Kong office or retail property. Home prices ...

Consumer debt is rising in the US, and the reaction to this news has been both heated and predictable: “Americans in record debt: It’s our own fault,” read one headline in a conservative publication last week. A business website went with something more colourful: “The State of the American Debt Slaves, Q4 2019.” And presidential candidates have chimed in to ...

The latest Post-ABC News poll, which shows Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., with a 16-percentage-point lead over his nearest Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden, should settle at least one important question. It refutes the notion that most Democrats are focused single-mindedly on defeating President Trump — and that everything else is secondary. It turns out that everything else isn’t ...

Employers spend billions annually screening and assessing potential new hires, but they aren’t getting much for their money. As many as 95% of employers admit to hiring the wrong people each year. Worse, more than a third of employers report being unaware of the true costs of bad hires, which can reach as high as five times annual salary costs. ...

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting show central bankers continue to move closer to explicitly allowing the economy to run hot enough to push the inflation rate above its 2% target for a period of time. The big undecided question is, will the Fed lower interest rates to meet this new objective? While a rate cut looks ...

The rise of social media has turned the fear of missing out — or FOMO — into a widespread anxiety. Those jitters may now strike parts of Europe’s banking sector with renewed anticipation for a wave of much-needed consolidation. An unsolicited bid by Intesa Sanpaolo SpA for Unione di Banche Italiane SpA triggered hopes of a process that would help ...

There hasn’t been much balance in the overheated debate around the post-Brexit trade settlement between Britain and the European Union (EU). So it was a welcome surprise to see former Morgan Stanley President Colm Kelleher describe Europe’s capital markets as “not fit for purpose” recently. It’s good to see an acknowledgement that maybe the EU doesn’t hold all the cards ...

If you’re a banker sitting somewhat idle at UBS Group AG, you may be feeling vulnerable today. The Swiss giant has picked Ralph Hamers — an outsider credited with making ING Groep NV one of Europe’s most digitally savvy and cost-efficient banks — as its new chief executive officer. That sets a clear strategic direction for UBS. The lender is ...

The nature of poverty in rich countries has changed. The sort of material deprivation common in developing nations is effectively a thing of the past. But millions of Americans lead precarious lives — always on the verge of getting evicted, not knowing where their next meal will come from, or unsure how they’ll be able to generate an income. This ...