Opinion

If everyone feels so miserable, why do they seem to be out having a good time? This is the puzzle in comparing US second-quarter bank results with terrible readings in recent consumer sentiment surveys. Citigroup Inc.’s customers are spending freely on restaurants and holidays, which drove credit card volumes up 18% compared with those in the period a year earlier, ...

  Searing inflation and a wave of interest rate hikes is putting global economies on a path to recession. And yet the world’s largest custom chipmaker just raised its full-year revenue guidance after posting another quarter of record profit. It’s not crazy to think Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will hit these bullish targets. Second-quarter net income of NT$237 billion ($8 ...

  The protest in Zhengzhou by victims of a bank fraud and its violent suppression by unidentified men caused an outcry on Chinese social media and captured the attention of the world’s press. Nowhere will the images have resonated more strongly than in Hong Kong. That’s partly because in the current climate it’s all but impossible to imagine a similar ...

The strangest thing about the turmoil surrounding UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s removal is the sustained lack of interest in Britain’s biggest and most pressing problem. Johnson bungled Brexit, and the country could be paying the price for years. His trade agreement with the European Union is broken and in danger of collapsing — threatening severe consequences for an economy ...

It may not have enough electric vehicles, powerpacks or the capital, but India has found a way towards mass electrification: swap batteries. The solution, where empty batteries can be exchanged for charged-up ones, is still in nascent stages in China, the world’s largest EV market, where it is anchored in strong government policy. Elsewhere, it hasn’t quite taken off. But ...

  It is spreading like wildfire. Homebuyers in China are refusing to pay the mortgage on properties they’ve bought but that their financially strapped developers can’t finish. Some say that they will only resume payments when construction restarts. The protest involved more than 100 delayed projects as of July 13, up from 58 projects just one day earlier. The frustrated ...

  Typically, the most effective foreign policy pairs smart tactical substance to an overarching strategic theme. Framing a foreign policy correctly can sustain domestic political support, attract allies and provide the intellectual guidance for action. Conversely, flawed framing can undercut any good that specific policies may otherwise be doing. When it comes to China, US President Joe Biden’s administration risks ...

If you lean towards supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, or if you’re a pacifist convinced of the inherent criminality of armed conflict, you’ll find evidence that, for all of its adroit messaging, Ukraine’s conduct during the war is hardly impeccable. There’s the recent United Nations report that appears to confirm Vladimir Putin’s frequent accusation that the Ukrainian military ...

It was too quiet to last. A sustained and brutal destruction of capital in India’s telecom industry was only just starting to give way to a period of peace and calm. The three operators who survived out of the dozen on the scene in 2016 must have been grateful for the end to a debilitating price war. Stable market shares ...

  Worried about a recession? Let industrial distributor Fastenal Co offer some perspective. The Winona, Minnesota-based company specialises in supplying factory-floor odds and ends to manufacturers and construction companies, and its earnings can often be a harbinger of the results its customers will report later this month. Fastenal said that demand was generally healthy but that there were certain signs ...