When economic historian Charles Kindleberger charted the rise of financial centres around the world in 1973, he doubted London could take the top spot in Europe’s growing union of states: “Sterling is too weak, and British savings too little.” Instead, after assessing various cities’ economies of scale and corporate pulling power, he plumped for Brussels. He was clearly betting on ...

Losses in the main US stock indexes will go down in history simply as small ones in an otherwise choppy week. But assessed in more detail, they provide a remarkable example of the intense tug-of-war that now grips markets and will most likely persist, if not intensify, in the weeks ahead. Two news developments dominated the run-up to the US ...

Bloomberg AirAsia Group Bhd is closing its affiliate operations in India, the local aviation minister said over the weekend, a comment his office later suggested was taken out of context. “AirAsia’s shop is anyway shutting down,” Hardeep Singh Puri said in televised comments that were widely circulated on social media. “Their parent company has problems.” A spokesman for AirAsia India, ...