Just a few weeks ago, optimism was palpable in the heart of Shanghai’s financial district. UBS Group AG’s annual China conference enjoyed a record turnout and investors from abroad were enthusiastically buying mainland shares — so much so that some hit foreign-ownership limits. Now all anyone can think about is the number of coronavirus cases. The Shanghai Composite Index slid ...

Remember when we all believed in Emmanuel Macron? The question comes not from an angry trade unionist but a stand-up comedian in central Paris, facing a crowd of thirty-something urbanites cut from the same cloth as France’s 42-year-old president. A collective groan of “yes” rises from the audience, many of whom spent the winter struggling through transport strikes triggered by ...

China’s Luckin Coffee Inc. hasn’t been having much luck lately. The last thing a retail business in the middle of a breakneck expansion needs is a deadly virus that keeps consumers off the streets and away from malls. What could be more damaging? Perhaps an attack by short-sellers branding your business a fraud. Shares in Nasdaq-listed Luckin Coffee plummeted 11% ...