Opinion

When Mark Zuckerberg described the metaverse last year, he conjured an image of harmonious social connections in an immersive virtual world. But his company’s first iterations of the space have not been very harmonious. Several women have reported incidents of harassment. I had several uncomfortable moments with male strangers on social apps run by both Meta Platforms Inc (formerly known ...

  The surge in mortgage rates we’ve seen this year is making an already dysfunctional housing market even more uncertain. Higher lending costs will make housing less affordable, which should cool demand and at least slow price increases. But the more significant impact in a market struggling with historically-low levels of inventory is what it means for supply. Unfortunately, at ...

  Boris Johnson’s Conservative government, desperate to show the benefits of quitting the European Union, has called for an “investment big bang”: He’ll clear regulatory obstacles so that pension funds and insurers can channel tens of billions of additional pounds into modernising Great Britain and raising living standards. But the upcoming overhaul of capital rules for insurers has little to ...

  China’s leaders could be forgiven for gloating a little next week, the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to Beijing. Their nation was arguably the biggest winner from Sino-American rapprochement. But it’s in danger of forgetting what made that victory possible. In February 1972, the country on which Nixon bet the equivalent of a geopolitical house was ...

Hong Kong officials have typically reacted with nonchalance to questions about the city’s record population exodus. Financial flows show the territory retains its hub status, business confidence is unshaken, those departing are denying themselves a role in a prosperous future. Or so some of the familiar arguments run. The Securities and Futures Commission’s (SFC) staffing struggles offer a different perspective. ...

  The Ukraine crisis may yet produce the biggest war in Europe since 1945. Or it may produce some strange new hybrid of cyberattacks, “little green men” and maskirovka (military deception) that won’t quite match our preconceived notion of war. Or — though this now seems the lowest-probability scenario — President Vladimir Putin may turn out to be Russia’s answer ...

  The latest Republican objection to Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination to the US Federal Reserve concerns a possible conflict of interest she had while serving on the board of a financial technology company. Far more disturbing — and far more justifiable as an objection — are her ideas about how to use the Fed to fight climate change. Using monetary ...

  Walmart Inc is defying fears that rising prices will derail the consumer recovery. The world’s biggest retailer announced better-than-expected quarterly profit and delivered an upbeat outlook for US same-store sales this fiscal year. The shares rose as much as 3% in pre-market trading. It’s good news, but it really shouldn’t be a surprise. Although other retailers may be fretting, ...

Even as omicron infection rates plummet, preparations must be made for whatever Covid-19 throws at us next. The best-case scenario is that we live with an endemic virus that causes only mild infections in most people who are vaccinated. But the possibility remains that new variants will arise. A good way to prepare for any eventuality is to develop new ...

  US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly said the crypto markets are like the “Wild West,” with insufficient protections for investors. A presidential working group has cautioned that some crypto platforms were allowing investors to make risky high-leverage bets. And the Treasury Department has called for legislation requiring some crypto issuers to be insured just ...