Tokyo / Bloomberg As stocks go, so does the performance of Japan’s giant pension fund. The $1.2 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) provided some respite for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a $41 billion gain in the three months ended December, rebounding from the worst quarterly loss in data going back to April 2008. It will probably prove fleeting, …

LONDON / Bloomberg Alternative trading arrangements with the European Union in the event of a British departure from the bloc would pose “serious risks” to the prosperity of Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron’s government said. The option providing for the most definitive break with the 28-nation bloc — a reversion to World Trade Organization rules —would mean greater costs for …

Bloomberg A British vote to exit the European Union stands to cloud the future of carmakers in the U.K., as auto executives warned of higher prices and potential trade disruptions. “I’d find it very regrettable,” said Harald Krueger, chief executive officer of BMW AG, the parent company of the Mini and Rolls-Royce car brands, said in a briefing at the …