France didn’t need a coronavirus to wake up to the benefits of big government. The nation of Jean-Baptiste Colbert — the 17th-century top-down economic planner who likened taxation to the art of plucking feathers from a goose — was already the top state spender and tax collector relative to economic output among its OECD peers before the epidemic struck. While ...

So long, activists. No one’s giving you any cash back, at least not anytime soon. Companies and investors alike are stashing money as Covid-19 throws an uncertain future across the global economy. Liquidity is front of mind. Automakers and retailers in the US have drawn down billions of dollars on their credit lines to deal with impending shortages. But Japan ...

It’s confusing, I get it. For the past four years, the message has been: “Don’t trust Big Tech with your data!” Now, Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google are offering a tool to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic that needs you to surrender more information to your smartphone. It’s sensitive information too. They want to know whether you’ve had the virus ...