Bloomberg It was five minutes before midnight in Berlin. After another long day of political negotiations, Christian Lindner’s hands were shaking. He had a dramatic decision to announce. But people involved in Germany’s coalition talks said they had sensed what was happening hours before the Free Democrats chairman pulled the rug from underneath a tricky deal to construct a government …

Bloomberg The new leader of Zimbabwe’s ruling party asked Robert Mugabe to resign as president of the southern African nation. “The destiny of our country is in the hands of our people and his excellency must heed the call of the people to resign,” Emmerson Mnangagwa, who left the country after Mugabe fired him as deputy president earlier this month, …

China is opening its financial firms to more foreign ownership. The opportunity might seem tempting. But developed-world buyers should beware — it’s possible that it’s a trap. On November 10, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao announced changes in the rules limiting foreign ownership of Chinese financial companies. Foreign investors will now be allowed to take controlling interests in Chinese securities …