Bloomberg Wells Fargo & Co. said retail customers opened 31 percent fewer checking accounts in January than a year earlier in the wake of a settlement with regulators over fraudulent sales. Customers submitted 47 percent fewer applications for credit cards, the worst year-over-year decline since October, the San Francisco-based lender said in a statement. January marks the fifth consecutive …

Bloomberg Perng Fai-Nan began his tenure as chief of Taiwan’s central bank by defending the currency during the Asian financial crisis. As he approaches retirement nearly two decades later, the Taiwan dollar will again pose a challenge. Perng, 78, will step down next February after 20 years in his post, making him a longer-serving central bank chief than Alan Greenspan. …

  Nuremberg / DPA In the old days, people used to complain that children were glued to the television. Now they worry that they’re even more under the spell of their smartphones and tablets. The toy industry first exploited tech and used apps to build out their business. But now they’re also looking to take advantage of the counter trend. …