Bloomberg French energy giant Engie SA entered exclusive talks to sell its services unit Equans to conglomerate Bouygues SA for 7.1 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in what would be one of the country’s largest deals this year. “Bouygues’ offer was the most compelling taking into account all criteria including financial valuation,” Engie, based near Paris, said in a statement. Bouygues ...

If US troops were deployed on Taiwan, China’s government-run Global Times warned in August, Beijing would “destroy and expel” them and “realise reunification by force.” Two months later, media reports confirmed that the Pentagon had indeed placed small numbers of US forces on Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army didn’t strike. But the episode was enough to make one wonder whether ...

US manufacturers hired 60,000 people in October, double economists’ estimates and the most since June of last year. It was a robust showing, led by automakers. But payrolls in the sector are still down by almost 300,000 since the end of 2019, even as many large industrial companies are reporting sales above pre-pandemic levels. Last month’s recruitment success will only ...