Opinion

By rights, wealthy finance types should adore Bombardier Inc. The Canadian aerospace and train manufacturer’s Global 7500 is the biggest business jet around and can fly non-stop from New York to Hong Kong reaching almost the speed of sound. It’s yours for a mere $73 million. To describe the cabin as roomy is an understatement. There are four separate “living ...

I am concerned with Canada’s recent arrest and possible extradition of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Meng was travelling in Canada, switching planes using a Chinese passport, when she was taken into custody. If sent to the US, she would face charges of trying to defraud United States financial institutions, each carrying a maximum sentence of 30 years. And ...

The arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Huawei Technologies Co., China’s iconic company, is a watershed event. The arrest, made at the behest of the US Justice Department, has roiled markets around the world. It threatens to derail trade talks between the US and China, and to expose American businesses and executives in China ...

According to its most recent financial report, the US Federal Reserve is insolvent. That is, its net worth is negative: As of last quarter, the Fed had losses of $66.5 billion in its securities holdings, while its capital stands at $39.1 billion. That may be ironic for an institution tasked with ensuring that major banks have sufficient capital to maintain ...

Along Santa Barbara’s cherished Pacific beachfront, old campers, modified pick-up trucks and shabby cars are parallel parked on the adjacent road. It’s growing dark, and the denizens of these cramped, four-wheeled apartments are settling in for the night. California remains a land of great beauty and soaring promise, with dynamic industries and spectacular vistas. But if the state does not ...

Hurricanes, severe winter storms, wildfires, droughts and several recently issued reports have raised fresh concerns about climate change and the threat it may pose to the planet. The first thing investors should do in reaction to the global warming issue is not panic. Steven Koonin, a theoretical physicist who served as undersecretary of energy and science in the Obama administration, ...

The sorry truth is that both progressives and neoliberals still don’t get it and that seems to be true in France most of all. Since the election of President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, I have read or heard that he is the leader of the free world, the hope for Europe and a model for the US. Instead, he increasingly ...

President Donald Trump is mad at General Motors Co. He’s been mad at the automotive giant since late last month, when GM announced a major overhaul that would likely involve closing four US factories (and three foreign ones) and shedding thousands of jobs. This week, he reiterated his displeasure in an interview with Fox Business, calling GM’s action “nasty.” This ...

Conservative lawmakers in the UK voted on one question, but decided another. Their choice may not make the path for an orderly Brexit any easier, but it may make a disorderly Brexit a little less likely. The ballot presented to 317 Tory members of parliament was straightforward: It asked them whether they had confidence in their party leader, Prime Minister ...

Pay attention to the financial markets. If the Great Recession and 2008-09 financial crisis taught us anything, that was it. Until then, the Federal Reserve had focused mainly on fighting inflation and unemployment. What we learned is that overborrowing, shaky mortgages and inflated stock and home prices could also plunge the economy into crisis. Predictably, then, economists and business executives ...