Opinion

The US dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency might be weakening. In the last few years, the fraction of global reserves denominated in dollars has been inching down: This follows a longer-term slide; at the turn of the century more than 70% of reserves were in dollars. Meanwhile, central banks are buying more gold, which could signal a lack ...

Christine Lagarde is famous for her lively and engaging speaking style. But when she holds her first press conference as president of the European Central Bank, she would be wise to play it safe. It takes time to build a reputation as a central banker who can speak clearly and then deliver on her promises. A wrong foot could make ...

Along with never invading Russia or getting into a Twitter argument, we can add another golden rule — this one specifically for US oil majors: Never buy a shale-gas business. Chevron Corp.’s $10-11 billion impairment relates mostly to the Appalachian gas assets it picked up in 2011’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Atlas Energy Inc. Back then, the Permian basin was ...

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues sent a message with their final interest-rate decision of 2019: Don’t expect us to be subject to the whims of America’s ever-shifting trade policy in the year ahead. The Federal Open Market Committee, in its first unanimous decision since May, kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged in a range of 1.5% to ...

Yes Bank Ltd.’s latest $2 billion rescue plan was perfect except for one minor detail: Most suitors for the beleaguered Indian lender aren’t the kind the board can really take to meet the regulator for tea. Yet in a five-hour meeting, the directors decided to do exactly that. Jane Austen would have been proud of their desperation to marry off ...

It’s the worst nightmare of supermarkets and food delivery firms alike: Amazon.com Inc. turbocharging its grocery business with a network of couriers who can have grub on your doorstep within an hour. So you can see why Britain’s competition regulator decided to challenge the e-commerce giant’s planned investment in Deliveroo, the UK rival to UberEats. The Competition and Markets Authority ...

For those following 2020 market outlooks, the past two days have been dominated by BlackRock Inc. The world’s largest money manager began unveiling its calls for the coming year added TV appearances and journalist discussions with its most senior investors and strategists around the globe. The broadest takeaway is that 2019’s “extraordinary returns” across asset classes won’t continue over the ...

It’s unlikely Britons are voting swayed by the leaked Treasury department documents Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn dramatically revealed at a press conference. And yet the papers provide a glimpse of the hangover that could follow any “Brexit bounce” should the Conservatives win the parliamentary majority predicted by the polls. The 15-page internal briefing document, marked “official sensitive,” examines the financial ...

Selling Tesco Plc’s operations in Thailand and Malaysia for about 7 billion pounds ($9.2 billion) would be a nice parting present from outgoing Chief Executive Officer Dave Lewis to his successor Ken Murphy. But there could be a sting in the tail from such a lavish gift. Tesco would be even more focused on its home turf in the UK, ...

The $1.7 billion hit to Tullow Oil Plc’s market value on December 9— a 65% drop — provides a stark reminder of why bosses shouldn’t stay too long at the top. The hydrocarbon producer has been stubbornly overoptimistic about its prospects. Reality has now dawned, and it turns out the London-based group is in an extremely tight position. Oil and ...