Opinion

Is it possible to equitise human labour? For years people have talked about the idea of selling shares in one’s own talent, in the hope of attracting funds and assistance from others. Now it seems that this idea is happening at scale, through the Lambda School in California. The Lambda School teaches information technology skills online, and it charges zero ...

The key to crafting international agreements is making sure that all parties are able to declare victory. That seems to be at the heart of the emerging trade pact between the US and China. Beijing would have until 2025 to meet commitments on commodity purchases and would allow American companies to wholly own Chinese businesses, three people familiar with the ...

The global synchronised economy recovery has turned into a global synchronised economic downturn. The outlook seems to be getting bleaker by the day, and major central banks are hinting that they may need to keep monetary policies loose. The European Central Bank (ECB) has even suggested that it could start buying corporate bonds again. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to ...

Three cheers for Nomura Holdings Inc. At least from its shareholders, not its staff. After three straight quarters of losses, the Japanese investment bank unveiled plans to cut $1 billion in costs from its struggling wholesale business. The measures largely target Europe, though no region, including its home market, is spared completely. Ever since it bought Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s ...

A recently published Strategy& study examines the role of “chief digital officer” in the world’s 2,500 largest publicly listed companies. Chief among the consultancy’s findings: 2016 “was the high-water mark in CDO hiring” (though their 2018 data run only through the first quarter of the year, a spokesperson says). One reason for that peak, the study’s authors say, is that ...

Even as India is consumed by its upcoming elections, the world’s biggest, the country is nearing another milestone: It’s set to overtake the UK to become the world’s fifth-largest economy. By 2030, its GDP could top $10 trillion. Yet, unusually for such a geographically large and economically vibrant country, India has no states to compare to California in the US, ...

A high stakes game of 3-D chess is currently playing out in the sleepy German town of Mainz. The outcome will determine the landscape of the country’s telecoms industry for the next 20 years. Telefonica SA’s local unit is at particular risk of losing out. The Spanish carrier is bidding alongside Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone Group Plc and 1&1 Drillisch ...

It’s not Bollywood yet, but Indonesia could be germinating Asia’s next big film scene. After years of stifled growth and censorship, new cinemas are opening across the vast Southeast Asian archipelago at a rapid clip thanks to large cash investments. Meanwhile, international filmmakers are setting up operations. With local production houses and cinema owners taking their companies public, investors might ...

The president has received from one of his employees, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, a report that probably tells Ross’ employer what he wants to hear: that imports of cars — “The Audis are coming! The Audis are coming!” — threaten “national security.” This report is required by our lackadaisical Congress so it can pretend to be involved in setting trade ...

Here’s a phrase you haven’t heard much about Tesla Inc. lately: It all makes sense now. By “it,” I mean these events since January 1: Tesla announced it sold about 91,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2018, more than double the level of the second quarter. That included more than 63,000 Model 3s. The company said capital expenditure in ...