European countries have long prided themselves on their strong welfare states, including public-health systems. They are also convinced that the state has a big role to play in fostering the recovery after the pandemic. The painfully slow rollout of Covid-19 vaccines across the European Union is undermining any claims that government knows best, whether at a national or supranational level. ...

A red-hot trend in the car industry is for new entrants such as Fisker Inc to hand over the complicated and capital-intensive work of engineering and building vehicles to a contract manufacturer. Increasingly, cars are judged on their software and electronics so why bother wasting time and money on metal bashing? If Apple Inc is indeed seriously considering launching its ...

In the biggest British retail deal of 2020, billionaire entrepreneurs Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity firm TDR Capital were the surprise winners of a majority stake in UK supermarket Asda, valuing it at 6.8 billion pounds ($9.3 billion). That augurs well for more supermarket mergers and acquisitions this year. Several other private equity groups considered taking control of ...