Opinion

Ever since Deutsche Bank AG abandoned talks to merge with Commerzbank AG in April, a drip-feed of information on what Germany’s biggest lender plans next has leaked out. For Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing, the danger is that he finds most of his cards have been played well before he can unveil his overhaul at the end of next month. ...

Regulators will be watching closely when Facebook Inc. unveils its cryptocurrency project. Their vigilance is warranted. Mark Zuckerberg, the social network’s founder, isn’t going to gamble with what remains of his public image by replicating the worst excesses of the Bitcoin craze. He’s not trying to create a speculative currency; a potential wave of mom-and-pop investment losses is the last ...

“It is a great advantage to a president,” said the 30th of them, “and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know he is not a great man.” Or, Calvin Coolidge would say today, a great woman. While today’s incumbent advertises himself as an “extremely stable genius” and those who would replace him promise national transformation, ...

The hunt for a scapegoat for the collapse of the merger talks between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Renault SA is in full cry. There’s furious leaking on all sides: The Italians blame the French, the French blame Fiat and the reluctance of Renault’s partner Nissan Motor Co Ltd. to bless the deal. A lot of people on both sides ...

Believe what you want to believe: Japan’s machines are humming, or heading for trouble. There’s support for both points of view. For months, Japan watchers have been waiting for business activity to drop. However, core machine orders, which typically point to future spending, have continued to rise, as have industrial output and capital spending. Machinery orders in April came in ...

Theresa May will be remembered as the prime minister who couldn’t deliver Brexit. But she also leaves her successor another testing legacy: her failure to confront what she has called the UK’s “burning injustices.” Britain is a rich country by any definition, but it scores badly on a range of social measures. Income inequality is higher than in many comparable ...

A report in the New York Times that the US Cyber Command has intensified secret efforts to hack the Russian power grid is less interesting for its content than because of US officials’ apparent cooperation in publicizing the activity. Like any power grid undergoing a digital transformation, the Russian one is quite hackable – but why would the US want ...

Even as the fate of India’s shadow banks swings precariously between unexpected defaults and sudden downgrades, there’s trouble brewing in another unlit corner of finance. Exotic funds, designed for wealthy investors, have grown to $40 billion from nothing in just seven years, expanding by 71% in the 12 months through March. Since September, when the surprise bankruptcy of infrastructure financier ...

If it’s true that all political lives end in failure, then the same could be said for business. Carsten Spohr became Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s chief executive in 2014, made an impressive start, and had his contract extended to the end of 2023. He may regret signing up for that long. The German airline’s shares tumbled 12 percent on June 17after ...

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Iran of “unprovoked attacks” near the Strait of Hormuz, video screens behind him showed thick black smoke billowing from the two tankers that were struck on June 13. It was the dramatic imagery that sometimes precedes armed conflict. Pompeo didn’t offer hard evidence, and Iran denied the attacks. The US response in escalating ...