Activist investors, Japan’s the next place to go. Yes, you heard right. In the past two weeks, Hong Kong-based Oasis Management Co. has managed to score victories against two of the country’s oldest and biggest companies. The hedge fund got Panasonic Corp. to up its offer for a unit the electronics maker is seeking to take private, while also …

  The euro-zone economy is looking a lot healthier. After years of stagnation, growth has finally picked up and unemployment is falling. Fears of a paralyzing bout of deflation have receded as well. Yet there’s a risk of relapse — and Europe’s banking ‘doom loop’ is the reason. Close links between government finances and the banking system were a main …

  France voted on Sunday in the first round of presidential election which has overturned the country’s traditional politics. The poll took place amid high security, with 50,000 police officers deployed throughout the country. France declared a state of emergency in 2015 following deadly terrorist attacks. It’s not the security concern that makes this year’s election so different from other …