Opinion

It’s becoming standard practice for US tech giants to follow the letter of European rulings and regulations without really changing their behaviour. Most recently, Facebook and Google have exhibited just a superficial compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to allow users to keep control of their data. The government-funded Norwegian Consumer Council issued a report ...

A sort of “cryptobrawl” broke out last month at the Milken Institute Global Conference between economist Nouriel Roubini and panel participants more optimistic about the future of cryptocurrency technologies. I had the opportunity to participate in a partial rematch at Battle of the Quants, where Roubini was just as negative and DMS Governance’s John D’Agostino presented a moderate defense. All ...

Timothy Carpenter’s interest in smartphones has had two unintended consequences. It has drawn the Supreme Court deeper into ongoing debates about applying the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment to uses of digital technologies that have swiftly — the first iPhone was sold in 2007; today there are 396 million American cellphone service accounts — become integral to daily life. And the disagreement ...

President Trump has hurled so many thunderbolts recently that people may have missed the one that could have the greatest long-term impact on America’s national security — his directive to the Pentagon last week to start creating a new military service that he dubbed the ‘space force.’ It’s certainly a Trumpian idea: big and bold, with a Hollywood glitz factor; ...

Europe’s leaders will face an awkward truth when they meet at a crucial summit on July 5. For much of the past decade they’ve been able to duck difficult decisions, secure in the knowledge that the European Central Bank (ECB) would step in and fix things. Mario Draghi did this repeatedly, first by providing a backstop to the monetary union ...

In a speech to a joint session of Congress shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump praised Harley-Davidson, the storied motorcycle manufacturer, as a great American company — the kind he most wanted to see succeed. Less than two years later, he is threatening to punish the firm for doing its best to survive his policies. This absurd turn of ...

The Chinese government has given the world’s airlines until July 25 to recognize Taiwan as part of China. So far, Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. are among the very last holdouts. According to Bloomberg News, if the companies don’t comply, China could “prompt travelers from the mainland to boycott American airlines.” The airlines are understandably concerned ...

Each side of the UK’s 2016 Brexit debate peddled an economic narrative. Remainers warned of big economic costs from leaving the European Union. Leavers promised Brexit dividends: budget savings to be spent on the National Health Service (NHS), freedom from red tape, ‘frictionless’ EU trade and a host of new trade deals that would be a boon to exporters. These ...

One of my mottos is: Don’t criticize something unless you have a better idea. I’ve decried President Donald Trump’s tariff tactics, so it’s only fair I offer my own strategy for fighting a trade war with China — one with a bigger chance of success and smaller downside risk. Trump is right about China but wrong in his method. Yes, ...

Investment-bank dealers have been painted lately as the villains in some of the biggest bouts of volatility in global markets. When Italian bond yields spiked last month, traders complained that dealers refused to offer quotes, meaning investors couldn’t exit their positions as losses piled up. A study this month from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority found that during the pound’s ...