Opinion

Investors dumped Brazil’s stocks and currency as the country’s ever-proliferating corruption scandal spread to President Michel Temer. This latest twist in a seemingly endless saga not only threatens to stall vital economic reforms but also comes close to showing that the corruption in Brazil’s government is literally beyond control. Proving otherwise will require drastic measures. Sitting federal lawmakers have put ...

Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s controversy continues to dog the White House. Flynn scandal has become towering predicament for Trump’s presidency. Trump fired Flynn in February as he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak before Trump took office. In 2015, Flynn received $30,000 to attend Moscow events, where he shared ...

It’s been an excellent few months for startups in China’s sharing economy. Perhaps too good. The bike-sharing industry landed its first unicorn, and companies that allow phone users to share battery packs have raised at least $150 million in recent weeks. But at the same time, one startup recently announced that it expects to share at least 500,000 umbrellas in ...

What’s Europe’s most profitable airline? Air France-KLM, whose premium passengers sleep in private suites with memory-foam mattresses, dine on Joël Robuchon dishes and have private jets at their disposal? Or Ryanair Plc, which offers flights starting at 10 euros and whose chief executive officer has mused about charging passengers for toilet visits? No prizes for guessing it’s Ryanair. Trailing 12-month ...

For years, mobile phone owners have had access to just one digital assistant — Siri on an iPhone, Google Now/Google Assistant on an Android device, Cortana on a Windows one. Now that’s changing as multiple assistants proliferate to multiple phones. It sounds like an epidemic case of multiple personality disorder but it’s actually a step toward a future in which ...

As President Trump embarks on his first overseas trip, he’s embracing the same defiant strategy adopted over a generation ago by an embattled predecessor, Richard Nixon. As scandal talks grow at home, Trump is licking his wounds, spurning his critics, and looking for approval from foreign leaders who admire him for being a tough guy. Trump’s combative early-morning tweets on ...

Unlike Hong Kong’s stock-trading links with Shanghai and Shenzhen, the bond connect between the former British colony and China may not be as slow to gain traction. The People’s Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority this week unveiled plans to establish a mutual access program between the mainland and Hong Kong bond markets. Details on timing have ...

President Donald Trump has frequently denounced the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), promising either to renegotiate it with extreme prejudice or terminate it altogether. On Thursday his administration served official notice that he is serious, notifying Congress that it intends to start negotiations with Canada and Mexico in 90 days. So Nafta is as good as doomed? Maybe not. ...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s election manifesto combines traditionally socialist rhetoric with a lack of specific spending promises. With it, May is making a play for center-left voters the way Tony Blair once made a play for center-right ones; she’s joining a European trend — a kind of hybrid right-left is emerging as traditional political divisions are erased. “Conservatism is ...

In the cutthroat race for consumer dollars, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has pulled ahead. Shares in the world’s largest retailer rose 2% on Thursday after it reported an eye-popping 63% year-over-year increase in the latest quarter in US online sales, along with its eleventh straight quarter of year-over-year sales growth at established stores. It’s been a decades-long journey, but it seems ...