Masayoshi Son just pulled off a deal that gives him the best of both worlds. He’s found a way to keep a foot in WeWork without getting it stuck in the company’s quicksand of cash. SoftBank Group Corp.’s chairman announced that he’s increasing the company’s stake in WeWork to 80% ( from 29%). And yet, the parent isn’t welcoming the ...

Some good news for the European Central Bank (ECB). The German government has nominated Isabel Schnabel, an accomplished economist at the University of Bonn, to replace her compatriot Sabine Lautenschlaeger on the ECB’s executive board. Lautenschlaeger is quitting after the central bank’s decision to restart large-scale bond purchases (known as quantitative easing). It’s an anachronism that Germany, France and Italy ...

Driven in part by soaring public debt, Indonesian President Joko Widodo is going soft as he starts his final term. He’s emphasising “soft infrastructure’’ such as legal reform, education and counter-corruption while quietly easing back on the physical airports, roads and the like that were the key priority in the first five years. But he should beware of putting Indonesia ...