Ever since LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE said it was walking away from Tiffany & Co, the question has been why? The obvious answer is that LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault is trying to shave the $16 billion purchase price that now looks too high given the damage inflicted on the luxury industry by Covid-19. But saving a couple of ...

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 ...