Opinion

Britons tucked into J. Sainsbury Plc’s value-priced turkey crowns, costing 9 pounds, over the festive period. But its disappointing performance risks turning the group itself into the feast for Britain’s other big supermarkets. Sainsbury said like-for-like sales across the group fell 1.1 percent in 15 weeks to January 5, missing analysts’ expectations for a 0.3 percent decline. True, the reporting ...

The recent presidential address and the response from Democratic Party’s leaders in Congress offered little prospect that the stand-off over President Trump’s wall will be quickly resolved. As yet, neither side looks ready to back down or seek compromise. For this to change, public opinion may need to shift. Encouragingly, last night’s exchange suggests it soon might — against Trump. ...

On the long list of leading indicators that market participants attempt to use to figure out where the economy may be headed, don’t overlook aluminum. Despite the many market-soothing words uttered by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and former chairs Janet Yellen and Ben S. Bernanke at the American Economic Association’s annual meeting in Atlanta, economic and market risks have ...

Equity markets have been rallying on the prospect that the trade-related cloud hanging over the global economy could be lifting. The S&P 500 index is up more than five percent, buoyed both by last week’s strong US jobs figures and the sense of momentum in talks between US and Chinese negotiators. The two countries can reach a deal they “can ...

Thanks to a combination of Google, WebMD and the $6,000 deductible on my health insurance, I haven’t been to a doctor to talk about an illness in years. Millions of Americans have similar habits; in fact, one in 20 Google searches are for health-related information. “Dr. Google” may not have an MD or a board certification, but it does have ...

Chandra Shekhar Ghosh is a new arrival on India’s banking scene. Billionaire Uday Kotak is a seasoned campaigner and Asia’s richest banker. No wonder then that Ghosh is falling in line with a central bank command, while Kotak is suing. The disputes concern the founders’ maximum permissible ownership. The Reserve Bank of India is pushing the largest shareholders of Ghosh’s ...

American officials traveled to China this week in an effort to end the bitter trade war between the two countries. The main obstacle to a settlement is natural rivalry: The United States is trying to protect its position as the most important superpower; and China is serving notice that it covets that status for itself. What further complicates matters is ...

The Gilets Jaunes movement is splintering after Emmanuel Macron shelled out billions of euros to appease French citizens fed up with the high cost of living. But plenty are still taking to the streets, with turnout of about 50,000 across France last weekend. The violence is proving hard to contain. Rioters used a forklift truck to break into the offices ...

Britain’s retail sector isn’t saving the best for last. Next Plc has kicked off the post-Christmas reporting season with what looks like a pretty decent performance. True, sales in stores were slightly worse than expected, while its forecast for full-year profit has been trimmed slightly. But that’s due to higher sales of lower margin items, such as beauty, and better-than-expected ...

A pleasing synchronicity is edging back into the world economy, at least in terms of monetary policy. Let’s hope it’s not too late. Wasn’t the “synchronised global upswing” narrative – all the rage in 2017 – retired last year? That doesn’t mean courses can’t be recalibrated. The signal late last week of a pause in interest-rate hikes from the Federal ...