It’s long been obvious that one of Germany’s formerly grand centrist parties, the left-leaning SPD, is in decline. But another and even grander centrist bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, had hopes of avoiding that fate, by defending the hallowed middle ground in politics. Suddenly, though, Germany is having a full-bore political crisis of centrism. Since ...

Bloomberg Stocks dropped globally and US index futures fluctuated on Wednesday as investors fretted fresh evidence of the widening coronavirus outbreak. Gold advanced and Treasuries were steady. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell for a fifth straight session, suffering its longest losing streak since July, as companies including Diageo Plc and Danone SA warned the virus outbreak will hit their ...

Bloomberg Thailand confirmed three more novel coronavirus cases, taking the country’s total to 40, and said it will step up efforts to contain the disease. The stock market slumped the most since 2014. The new cases are in one family and include two people who returned from Hokkaido in Japan and are thought to have contracted the illness there, Permanent ...