A slowing economy and relatively high prices have been highlighted as chief culprits behind the slump in demand for Apple Inc.’s iPhones in China. There’s a third factor that’s been overlooked: the end of easy money. Apple last week cut its quarterly revenue forecast for the first time in almost two decades, blaming weak sales in Asia’s largest economy. Cheaper ...

Samsung Electronics Co. missed analyst estimates for fourth-quarter operating profit by 22 percent, the most in two years. That shortfall may be as much a function of sell-side analysts’ financial modeling as Samsung’s inability to deliver stronger earnings. Buy-siders, for example, have been selling down the stock since the middle of the third quarter, an indication that they saw tough ...

It took Italy’s populists just eight minutes to renege on one of their flagship stances. The coalition government gave its go-ahead to a bank bailout, saying it is willing to recapitalise Banca Carige, a troubled mid-sized lender, if needed. The plan smacks of hypocrisy. For years, the Five Star Movement has accused its political opponents of using public money to ...