Opinion

  Much business in Asia is still done the old way — trust is the most important asset. As the region becomes the biggest source of dollar bonds in the developing world, however, investors are starting to question whether they need more in writing. It’s high time. For one thing, bond fund managers are talking about limiting the freedom of ...

  Britain’s Supreme Court has given UK members of Parliament the power to stop Brexit. Unfortunately, it’s a power they don’t seem to want. In its ruling, the court said that an act of Parliament is necessary to authorize Theresa May’s government to invoke Article 50, the European Union’s exit clause. MPs will almost certainly approve the enabling act and ...

  Damascus government and rebel factions fighting to overthrow it came face-to-face for the first time on Monday in Kazakhstan, where the representatives of Russia, Turkey and Iran sought to bolster a shaky cease-fire which is in place since last month. The Astana gathering is the first time Syrian government representatives are sitting down with an opposition delegation made up ...

  Donald Trump’s inauguration marks a global inflection point: He takes office at a moment when many analysts see a transition to a new economic and political order — one where the risks for the United States and its allies are likely to increase. Trump’s promise to “make America great again” resonated with many disaffected voters at home. But abroad, ...

  Japan Inc. is getting a raw deal in India. Some of its high-profile investments in the country have created more wealth for arbitration lawyers in London and Singapore than they have for shareholders. Those who were expecting great things from the bromance between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have reasons to be disappointed. ...

  The worst levels of air pollution are generally found in Beijing, Delhi and other metropolises of the developing world, where headlong growth stirs up construction dust and energy providers still burn a lot of coal. But the air in London is dangerously polluted, too, with concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in some parts of the city measuring among the highest ...

  International community, Palestinians and even some in Israelis believe that settlement expansion is a major roadblock to finding peaceful solution for Palestine-Israel conflicts. The US President Donald Trump has failed to understand this. Trump has vowed to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, a politically charged act that would anger Palestinians who want east Jerusalem, home to key Jewish, ...

  The UK government is threatening to give its post-Brexit economy a shot in the arm by reducing corporate taxes to become a sort of “Singapore-on-Thames,” a tax haven on the perimeter of the European Union. EU officials are dismissive of the idea; but they may be whistling past a graveyard. At a rate of 20 percent, the UK currently ...

  Snapchat isn’t a public company yet, but it is already making its first smart move to divert the scrutiny of pesky public stockholders. Sure, there’s parent company Snap Inc.’s decision to bring in a new set of stock owners that won’t have even the appearance of a say in how the company operates. A potentially bigger deal is Snapchat’s ...

  This could be Li & Fung Ltd.’s (very slim) chance to shine. Donald Trump on Monday officially quashed the Asia-Pacific free trade pact that would have made it cheaper for US companies to import goods from countries such as Vietnam and Japan. He has also threatened to institute a 45 percent tariff on goods imported from China. Conventional wisdom ...