Italy’s agreement to sign on to China’s Belt and Road Initiative has unnerved European and US leaders who hoped for a united front against Beijing’s geo-economic ambitions. “Endorsing BRI lends legitimacy to China’s predatory approach to investment and will bring no benefits to Italian people,” White House’s National Security Council (NSC) warned via Twitter. While Chinese investment in Europe is ...

You know the situation must be dire if a company’s shares spike after it confirms plans to dilute shareholders. Japan Display Inc., a maker of screens for the iPhone and other gadgets, jumped as much as 14 percent. The catalyst was a brief statement from the company earlier in the day that said it was aiming to reach agreements this ...

Today, around $10 trillion of bonds are trading at negative yields, mainly in Europe and Japan. In the next recession, US interest rates, too, may enter negative territory: Short-term rates are currently running around 2.5 percent, and cuts of between 3 percent and 5 percent are commonly needed to restart economic activity. In markets where rates are even lower or ...