Opinion

The merger that created Standard Life Aberdeen Plc two years ago was designed to produce an asset manager big enough to survive the existential threats facing the fund management industry. Martin Gilbert, founder of the Aberdeen side of the equation, hoped to join what he called “that $1 trillion club” by growing assets under management. The reality has been somewhat ...

The weakness in the global bond market is surprising for one primary reason: It’s a sign central banks may finally be taking the right steps to get the worldwide economy back on track. Central banks have taken a lot of heat by trying to combat slowing economic growth and inflation with the same strategies that have so far largely failed ...

In many respects, Japan’s economy is doing better than at any time since the boom years of the 1980s. The employment rate is at all-time highs. Women have flooded into the labour force, and immigration is helping to cushion the blow of an aging society. Japanese companies, once known for low margins, are learning how to increase profits, helped by ...

Forever 21 Inc. has learned the hard way that the allegiance of teen shoppers is anything but everlasting. The fast-fashion retailer filed for bankruptcy, saying it has obtained $350 million in financing to help it stay afloat. The company said it plans to close most of its Asian and European stores in order to focus on its core business in ...

Just when you think banks in India can’t possibly deliver any more bad news, a near $1 billion scandal drops without warning. The alleged wrongdoing at Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank differs from previous Indian banking scams in that savers are on the hook this time around, a situation that can’t be allowed to continue without chilling consequences for ...

Austria just held an election that indicates a new direction for European politics: Increasingly, the center right might find itself working with the Greens. The 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz, the winner of last week’s election, is more than a successful small-country politician. He’s a weathervane for all of Europe. Two years ago, he scored a difficult victory for his Austrian People’s ...

It’s an interesting twist of fate that the European governments whose job it is to enforce sweeping new data-protection laws, rolled out to curb intrusive tech firms like Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., are increasingly finding their own digital ambitions tripped up by them. Earlier this year, Ireland’s plan for a national “public services card” was deemed illegal by its ...

Tesla Inc.’s quarterly deliveries announcements are not what they were, mainly because they’re so brief these days. Wednesday evening’s still managed to spark a 4% sell-off in immediate after-hours trading. On one level, that barely counts given this stock’s volatility. On the other, there were a couple of nuggets in the release that warrant watching. Most obviously, Tesla didn’t quite ...

Philip Hammond is officially “outside the tent,” to use Lyndon Johnson’s phrase. After losing his job as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and then his badge as a Conservative MP by rebelling against Boris Johnson’s hardball Brexit strategy, Hammond has kicked up an almighty stink by accusing Johnson of being in thrall to wealthy financial “speculators” who would actively profit ...

When a well-capitalized shadow bank’s credit rating goes from A+ to D in 10 days, it shows how fragile lending to India’s builders has become. It also highlights the policy error of not addressing the root of the problem: land. In June, three months before the unexpected default by Altico Capital India Ltd., I proposed a land bank that would ...