One of the assumptions that economists sometimes use to frame their models is to specify that some variables will be held constant, a concept that’s expressed with the Latin phrase ceteris paribus. We often make the same mistake in politics and foreign policy. We concentrate on our own domestic issues and assume that the rest of the world will remain ...

Whichever way you slice it, the draft Brexit deal unveiled by British Prime Minister Theresa May is no big win for financial services, despite being lauded as such in some quarters. If she gets it past parliament, still a huge if, the accompanying transition period – which may well be extended – will give banks and other finance firms more ...

Any thoughts that the sheer size of Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s omnipotent chat app would slow it down appear unjustified. Monthly active users for WeChat hit 1.083 billion in the September quarter, the company said. That’s one in every seven people on the planet. Even more interesting is the number of users it managed to add: 102.5 million from a year ...