In a recent column, I observed that by many measures, China is the world’s largest economy. This means a number of benefits will now flow — and indeed are already flowing — to China that used to go to the US and Europe. Chief among these is agglomeration, of the tendency of businesses to seek out the biggest markets and ...

The slow death of the conglomerate has been a theme in the developed world, exemplified this year by the decline of General Electric Co. to a shadow of its former self. By contrast, Asia’s sprawling family-controlled groups have continued to thrive. That’s not to say they’re free of challenges. Victor Li, 54, sits atop a global empire spanning telecom, ports, ...

It’s almost 80 years since Fred Schwed’s book “Where are the Customers’ Yachts?” lifted the lid on Wall Street’s propensity to enrich itself at the expense of its clients. A new study suggests that the most lucrative investment a fund could make would be paying to relocate its operations as far away from the financiers as possible. In a paper ...