Tough times lie ahead for Portuguese bonds. They were a euro area laggard last year, and 2017’s looking pretty poor. European Stability Mechanism Managing Director Klaus Regling said last week markets are “nervous” about Portugal’s debt level, financial sector and competitiveness. Portuguese yields had got low enough to suggest we were a long way from the bailout days of …

  Kara Alaimo Earlier this month, US prosecutors announced charges against three former executives of the Japanese auto-parts maker Takata for allegedly falsifying data to cover up a deadly air-bag defect. The company has admitted to a 15-year cover-up, agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud, and will pay a $1 billion fine. Meanwhile, the faulty air bags have been …

  SAN FRANCISCO / AP The Pixel phone, Google’s answer to Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy, is off to a promising start — but might have done even better had Google managed consumer demand as smartly as the device’s sleek design. Although Google hasn’t released sales figures, industry researchers say the Pixel has been a hot item since its October …