Bloomberg Uber Technologies Inc. suffered a legal setback in its fight against being regulated as a traditional taxi service, after an adviser to the European Union’s top court rejected the argument that the car-hailing application is just that, an app. The question has vexed regulators and lawmakers across the region for years and Thursday’s non-binding opinion gives an indication that …

As they’ve guided China’s remarkable economic ascent over the last four decades, the country’s leaders have largely been content to focus on raising incomes and building factories. They’ve steered clear of messy international entanglements that could undermine economic progress, and with it the public support that keeps them in power. Over the past decade, of course, a richer, more confident …

Most of us remember the time before smartphones were in the pockets and purses of billions of people. Before those gadgets became the primary computer for millions of people. Before the smartphone boom made fortunes for some companies — Apple and Facebook, for example — and doomed others. That all happened in less than a decade. That is stunningly quick. …