Opinion

As scientific terms go, “climate change” is lame. It sounds like something created by committee. And it’s hard to understand as a crisis when we also hear scientists talking about ice ages and other natural changes to the climate happening throughout earth’s history. “Global warming” is something people have worried about for years, though. It’s essentially another term for the ...

Intel Inc. closed out 2019 learning the hard lesson that making cutting-edge semiconductors is truly difficult. Like a prizefighter who refuses to admit he just hit the mat, the world’s biggest chipmaker is coming out swinging. And it should, because how it gets through 2020 could decide the company’s fate. Once the most advanced supplier of semiconductors, Intel struggled last ...

Tianqi Lithium Corp. had everything going for it: generous subsidies, Beijing’s blessing on the electric-vehicle industry it supplies, and the hype of Tesla Inc. getting its sedans off the production line in China. The only thing interrupting this nice fairy tale is the reality of demand and making money. Over the past few years, China has supported its electric-car industry ...

The “swamp” just got bigger. You will recall that the swamp was one of candidate Donald Trump’s favourite metaphors in 2016. It disparaged the influence-peddling and lobbying practiced by “special interests” in their quest for government favours and subsidies. Trump pledged to drain the swamp, but in practice he’s doing the opposite — expanding the swamp. The latest and perhaps ...

The resignation of Luigi Di Maio as leader of Italy’s Five Star Movement is a move that smacks of desperation. The populist party that gatecrashed Italian politics faces crumbling support in the polls and deep internal divisions. It’s hard to see how it can bounce back even with a change at the top. The decision adds to the sense of ...

It was once a great blessing for an emperor to have a son. But if he has more than one, succession could threaten to unravel the empire – especially if his grip was weak. Over six decades, Shin Kyuk-ho built a chewing-gum business into South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, spanning hotels, shopping malls, movie chains and cafes. It’s no secret that ...

Back in 1999, one of the most talked-about scenes in one of the most talked-about movies involved a dancing plastic bag. It was surely a more innocent time. Still, two decades on from American Beauty and its bag-shaped pretensions, this is an opportune moment to reiterate that it’s just trash. China has unveiled plans to curb the use of non-degradable ...

Beneath the sleek surface of this sparkling Mediterranean metropolis boil passions generated by Spain’s version of identity politics. The passions are aroused by demagogues who hope to shatter a nation. The turmoil in Catalonia — the northeastern of Spain’s 17 regions, which exercise considerable autonomy (over police, health care, education, etc.) — is the toll taken by lies used to ...

It’s rare for an anonymous quote in a management consultant’s report to make much of an impression. But the admission by the chief financial officer of an unnamed global bank on the mystery that surrounds his own company’s technology spending is striking. It’s especially troubling for investors in the finance sector. “I know 50% of my digital transformation spend is ...

India’s great telecom melee was bad enough as a brawl between service providers and the state, with operators complaining about the government’s outlandish claims on their past revenue. Now, consumers have jumped into the fray. A confusing three-cornered fight could lead to ugly outcomes: The country’s broken financial system would take a fresh hit; new 5G networks could be delayed; ...