Opinion

Britain’s government will soon begin pleading for a delay in the country’s exit from the European Union (EU). Without this, Brexit would go ahead on March 29 with no agreement in place to manage the disruption that would follow. The House of Commons has already rejected (twice, and by huge margins) the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May, ...

There’s always been something grimly appropriate about the world’s most unequal rich society being home to one of its least affordable aviation sectors. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. has historically been so resistant to the idea of budget airlines that the city’s dominant carrier once fought (and won) a three-year regulatory battle to stop Qantas Airways Ltd. from setting ...

Tesla drivers are fond of the electric vehicle’s giant touchscreen display, but for more conservative buyers of luxury cars such digital systems might seem a tad unrefined. Thankfully, Britain’s Bentley has solved this very first-world problem on its new Continental GT model by offering a revolving panel that will spin around to show analogue gauges instead of the screen, when ...

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) risks being stranded. The pioneer of zero interest rates and quantitative easing has the most accommodative monetary policy of any major central bank. Rather than being positioned comfortably during this global slowdown, the Bank of Japan must be feeling pretty anxious. There’s little advantage to being the first mover. Others learn your tricks. They may start ...

China didn’t waste any time reacting to the tragic crash of a Boeing Co. 737 Max operated by Ethiopian Airlines Group on Sunday. Less than 24 hours after the accident, it became the first country to ground the plane. In the hours and days that followed, Ethiopia, Europe and — finally, on March 13 — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ...

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. should ask for a tax refund. After all, here’s a telco that got the chance to maintain its stake in an overseas business on the cusp of something new at a steep discount to the market price. And what did it do? SingTel renounced a part of those rights in favour of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund for ...

How can a company be both the second-place player in its fast-growing industry – and largely excluded from the conversation about the future of said industry? That’s the weird position occupied by EBay Inc. The company grabs a larger share of the US e-commerce market than Walmart Inc., Apple Inc., and every other retailer besides Amazon.com Inc. The $95 billion ...

Good presidents learn while they are in office. Donald Trump, however, is doubling down on many of the same bad ideas he campaigned on. A recent example is an initiative his administration is reportedly developing to force US allies to pay far more for hosting American troops and bases. The initiative flows naturally from the president’s desire to get even ...

Charles Li, chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd., has his plan at the ready. An agreement with MSCI Inc. is in the bag. Once regulators bless the idea, he will give futures contracts on China’s A-share index in the city a go. One place where Li’s announcement was received with some trepidation was the rival financial center ...

When it comes to General Electric Co. and its mammoth turnaround, I’ve long felt that a recovery in its bedrock business and financials won’t mean as much without a corresponding correction to the misguided priorities and cultural arrogance that led to its difficulties in the first place. So it’s good to see the company making some progress in that area. ...