Opinion

  Executives at the world’s most important chipmaker made a valiant attempt at calming global nerves Thursday over the outlook for the semiconductor sector. But equipment suppliers and investors are unlikely to find much to cheer from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s third-quarter earnings. Net income at TSMC beat estimates, but that’s because the company has become a master at managing ...

“You’ve got to get this done.” Hardly the words of encouragement UK pension fund managers wanted from the governor of the Bank of England. Speaking in Washington late on Tuesday, Andrew Bailey insisted they wind up excess leverage in gilts before the BOE ends its support for the country’s government bond market. That means the pension funds have just three ...

  The US corporate earnings season could prove to be half decent, but don’t expect the market to celebrate. The prospect of a looming recession is becoming too real for investors to get hung up on last quarter’s success. Consider the economic backdrop. Macroeconomic data suggest that key parts of the US economy have held up until now, which makes ...

  AI’s creative abilities are outstripping its driving skills. While self-driving car technology is going nowhere, there’s been a remarkable explosion in research around generative models, or artificial intelligence systems that can create images from simple text. In just the past week, AI researchers from Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have taken an extraordinary leap forward, developing systems ...

  Although the matter is reportedly still up in the air, I’m hoping the Supreme Court releases its report on the investigation of a draft opinion in last spring’s abortion case. But I doubt we’ll learn the identity of the leaker. We never do. I consider the leak contemptible, but we mustn’t be starry eyed. The court has leaked for ...

  In the US, pundits are predicting that a wave of women voters outraged by the recent Supreme Court decision on abortion will help Democrats retain control of the Senate, and possibly even the House. They may be right. But a closer look at right-wing politics in Europe should give Democratic strategists pause. Across Europe and the UK, women and ...

  During the pandemic, shortages of workers plagued the logistics chain, except for one link. Trucking companies, railroads, warehouse operators— all struggled to find enough employees to keep goods moving. Maritime ports were the exception. Once workers join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, they don’t easily walk away from the job. There was no Great Resignation or quiet quitting ...

  Housing markets are beginning to crack everywhere from the US and the UK to Australia and New Zealand. In China, the property industry is in a potentially deflationary crisis, while Hong Kong’s home prices are set to test a five-year low. In tiny Singapore, however, demand is defiant in the face of rising interest rates and a looming global ...

  Generals always fight the last war, they say, and it seems right now that lots of people are looking for the next Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers. They’re only half right. The 2008 crisis that killed these investment banks started with subprime mortgages and complex credit products, but became an epic rolling disaster due to a rapid loss of ...

  The quarterly earnings season for India’s outsourcing firms has begun on a cautiously optimistic note. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., the largest of the country’s software exporters, reported better-than-expected growth of 8% in net income. Its operating margin, which had slumped to a seven-year low of 23% in the three months to June, rose by 1 percentage point as Mumbai-based ...