When the forecasts landed earlier this fall for the holiday shopping blitz, all signs pointed towards a merry Christmas for retailers. But last week, major chains such as Macy’s Inc., Walmart Inc., Nordstrom Inc. and Williams-Sonoma Inc. saw their shares whacked after publishing third-quarter earnings results. Was that a signal that something has gone off course? I don’t think so. ...

The appetite for low-cost passive funds is driving evolution at both ends of the scale in the asset management business. The biggest firms need to add more exotic products which can still command higher fees than their vanilla funds. And that means there’s an opportunity for smaller specialist managers to sell themselves to their larger brethren. Sushil Wadhwani is selling ...

If the British parliament throws out the deal that Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has negotiated with the European Union (EU), it will be most regretted in Brussels, because the deal in its existing form essentially insulates Europe from most of the Brexit fallout. There’s a reason Donald Tusk, the European Council president, hurried to call a meeting of EU ...