Opinion

There’s growing evidence that China is finally scaling back its epic borrowing binge. That’s important for a lot of reasons, not least for reducing risk and avoiding a financial crisis. The question is whether the government can sustain the pain. Regulators in Beijing are well aware of the risks that excessive leverage poses, and have tried many times over the ...

Since President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, the White House has offered an evolving series of rationales for the decision. Trump himself offered a new one on Thursday — several, actually — but he didn’t exactly clarify things. In an interview with NBC News, after making the implausible claim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had ...

The US banned in March laptop and tablets in cabin baggage on flights originating from eight countries, impacting global hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul. It applied also to any electronics devices larger than smartphones. The action affected major carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. The measure includes 10 international airports in seven Middle Eastern countries ...

Just about everybody assumes that China will overtake the US as the world’s indispensable economy. One factor, however, could slow its seemingly relentless march and cast doubt on China’s prospects for becoming an advanced economy: faltering productivity. Sure, China is advancing daily in wealth, technology and expertise. But nothing is inevitable in economics. As costs rise and the labor force ...

Greece is considering tapping the capital markets for the first time in three years. Let’s hope its second attempt to regain market access goes more smoothly for investors than its first. A bond sale in July or September is being considered — if a deal on debt relief is reached, and the European Central Bank adds Greek debt to the ...

Strolling through the bustling construction zone of Amazon’s urban campus in Seattle, you instantly recognize the charm offensive the company has aimed at its hometown. ‘Banistas’ at two outdoor stands offer bananas to employees and passers-by — a visual cue to Amazon’s smiley logo. Most American cities would do backflips to have a jobs juggernaut like Amazon.com Inc. in their ...

President Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James B. Comey will intensify focus on the issue Trump has been so eager to dismiss — his knowledge of contacts between Michael Flynn and other associates and Russia. White House arguments that Trump sacked Comey for mishandling the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails are implausible, but no more so than some of ...

India’s outsourcing firms are firing workers. Don’t blame it on President Donald Trump’s hawkish stance on US visas. The ‘end of hyper-globalization’ story makes for compelling headlines. But the Indian code-writers’ misfortune has more prosaic roots in technology and customer tastes. Global corporations, the paymasters of Indian software vendors, are no longer so keen to ante up for application development ...

Everything about China’s “Belt and Road” project is big — from the scale of its investments to the guest list for this weekend’s gathering to celebrate the initiative. To improve its odds of success, China would be wise to think smaller. True, the initiative — which envisions building energy and transportation infrastructure from Asia to Europe — addresses real needs. ...

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI director James Comey stunned the nation. It ignited a political firestorm as Comey was leading an investigation into whether Trump’s advisors colluded with Russian government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in his favour. It has given rise to suspicions that the White House was trying to blunt the ...