Opinion

Could China’s oil and gas industry be on the brink of a revolution? That’s one interpretation of the government’s shakeup of regulations on petroleum production this month. The introduction of drill-it-or-lose-it rules and a possible extension of subsidies for unconventional gas output could end up dismembering sprawling industry leader PetroChina Co. and creating a new sector of independent upstream producers ...

The big state-owned Chinese enterprise is back. But this time, it isn’t looking sturdy enough to prop up the economy. As growth stumbles, Beijing is falling back on a tried and trusted solution: using large, government-backed companies to spur activity. That’s squeezing out private and small firms. The economy certainly merits concern. Trade frictions and Beijing’s crackdown on the underbelly ...

Each new iPhone is usually good news for mobile network operators. The latest Apple Inc. device always comes with upgrades that make it easier to play games, watch films and download reams of data. More data means bigger phone bills. There’s a chance, though, that the arrival of the next generation of iPhones might not be so welcome. That’s because ...

US Senator Bernie Sanders, a leader of the democratic socialist movement, is introducing a bill designed to force companies to pay their workers higher wages. The bill is being touted as an attack on Amazon.com Inc. — its name is the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act, which spells out ‘Stop BEZOS.’ That would be Amazon chief Jeff ...

Slowing global trade is evidence of how emerging-market (EM) stresses are being transmitted to advanced economies. The real concern of contagion remains financial linkages, though. Since 2009, non-resident gross flows into EM financial assets — loans, debt and equity securities — have averaged around $1 trillion annually, although the figure has been volatile. Total outstanding exposure, which remains opaque, may be ...

It’s a forlorn sight when emerging markets stage a creditable performance and investors don’t turn up. It’s miserable when patrons head for the exit after denouncing the play as a flop. While it’s still grappling with the second problem, India also has a third. It has a good show going, for which the likes of ArcelorMittal are reluctantly paying a ...

Amazon.com Inc. is usually cast as a predator that’s going to topple business models. But here’s a role that’s less talked about: valued customer. The e-commerce giant this week announced an order for 20,000 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, making it the world’s largest customer for the vehicle. It’s a key vindication of Daimler AG’s $500 million investment in a new state-of-the-art ...

One of the paradoxes of this year’s trade tensions is that in many parts of the world, it doesn’t yet feel like a crisis. For all the turmoil in emerging-market currencies, equity investors in major markets seem … relaxed? The milestone passed with little fanfare, but the S&P 500 index closed at a record high of 2,914.04 on August 29. ...

After a summer of shadow-boxing over Italian fiscal policy, autumn will deliver the main event. By the end of September, finance minister Giovanni Tria is expected to finalize a medium-term budgetary plan. The entree, however, will be the 2019 Budget Law, due in October. Over this period, rating agencies will complete their reviews of the country’s credit-worthiness. Another downgrade would ...

The packaged-food industry faces an unenviable list of problems right now. The most existential is shoppers’ embrace of healthy eating habits, but these companies also are being pummeled by insurgent niche brands, rising commodity costs, and retailers’ focus on private labels. Several are also navigating a CEO change or other leadership drama, while others have become the target of activist ...