Bloomberg Walmart Inc.’s plan to shed control of its UK grocery chain, Asda, reflects a global strategy to emphasize faster-growing markets over some of its more mature ones. The world’s largest retailer said that Asda will combine with British retailer J Sainsbury Plc, mixing the UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain with No. 3 Asda in a deal worth about $10 billion. …

Bloomberg Nordic banks, once coveted as the best-run and best-capitalised in Europe, appear to be losing their luster. After publishing first-quarter results, banks based in Sweden and Denmark are among the year’s worst performers in the Bloomberg index of European financial stocks. In fact, you need to have been an investor in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA or …

Bloomberg Fast-money investors have their fingerprints all over last month’s Treasury selloff — and that may be good news for bulls hoping for a reprieve. Commodity trading advisers, who use a momentum-driven investing style, flipped from neutral to a short position in the 10-year US Treasury futures contract on April 18, helping to send the note itself racing to 3 …