Opinion

Soaring pay and bonuses came as an unwelcome shock to shareholders during US banks’ 2021 earnings season. Most big European banks are also likely to complain about the exploding cost of talent in their results over the next few weeks. The big worry for investors — after the best banking profits in years — is that pay profligacy today will ...

  Upon his return to Apple Inc. in the 1990s, Steve Jobs started what would become one of the most legendary business turnarounds in history. The key to the comeback was refocusing the iconic technology company on its original DNA: combining beautifully designed, high-quality products with a simplified, friendly customer experience. While Mac users have benefited from Apple’s return to ...

  After the disasters at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011, turning away from nuclear power seemed prudent. Now it looks like a serious error — and not just because global energy costs happen to be spiking. Over the next several decades, an orderly, affordable and politically sustainable transition to zero-carbon electricity is likely to require a much bigger ...

  Since former US President Donald Trump launched his trade war against China in 2018, Chinese leaders have gone from mocking the idea that the world’s two biggest economies might decouple, to worrying about losing access to American technology, capital and markets, to thinking that China might be better off disengaging from its main rival on its own terms. They ...

In late 2021, diplomats spent hours arguing over whether to “phase-out” or “phase-down” coal in the final communique of the COP26 climate change summit. Under pressure from China and India, the watered-down second choice prevailed. Still, it was good enough for the United Nations to proclaim that the dirtiest fuel was being “consigned to history.” Nothing is further from reality. ...

  With UK retail price inflation over 7%, there is clear justification for the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee to deliver a second consecutive interest rate hike to 0.50% at its upcoming meeting on February 3. Sadly for the average person, it is more likely to be felt in higher borrowing costs than actually securing anything much above zero ...

  For more than a year, an egalitarian narrative dominated the discussion about US wages. Lower income workers were seeing the biggest pay increases while gains for better-paid employees lagged behind. But the quarterly results posted by banks last week may upend the dialogue. The five biggest American banks boosted compensation by 15% last year, more than twice as much ...

There is an old saying in British politics that oppositions don’t win elections, governments lose them. It’s lucky for Boris Johnson there’s no general election any time soon; Keir Starmer’s Labour Party would be an easy front-runner were a contest held today. The prime minister seems to be hanging on for now. But months of rolling revelations and what now ...

When hiking in hills, like those around Frankfurt, you might crest a peak only to see another higher one beyond. This is where Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing finds himself today. The German lender quadrupled profit to 2.4 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in 2021 versus 2020, recording its best result in a decade — a praiseworthy achievement given ...

Automakers have spent the past year announcing plans for electric vehicle models and production facilities. That makes 2022 a year when growing numbers of consumers will be weighing whether it’s time to buy their first EV. Is it worth taking the plunge? That probably depends on the price point and market segment you’re considering. My view is that the higher ...