For all their national pride and natural boosterism, Chinese officials don’t seem to think much of their own companies. Regulators have sought to limit everything from high-speed trading to short-selling, arguing Chinese firms can’t yet handle the vagaries of modern financial markets. They’re particularly leery of greater transparency, for fear of what might be exposed. Only last week, the China …

I’m going to wade into the debate over how to value companies that are technology-ish. There are understandable questions about whether mattress startup Casper, home-delivered razor seller Dollar Shave Club or meal-kit company Blue Apron should be valued like their old-guard competitors (meaning cheap) or more like internet companies that are in the business of bytes rather than real-world merchandise. …

Blue Apron is a company that claims to have “reimagined the traditional grocery business model.” Its recent disappointing initial public offering makes you wonder if investors are losing faith in such ‘reimaginings.’ Perhaps not, but it’s time to ask ourselves whether even some of Silicon Valley’s most vaunted attempts to rethink traditional business processes are sound, and what kind of …