With Brexit negotiations paralysed, and fewer than 100 days till the clock runs out, it’s worth remembering that the UK government — despite its assurances — remains entirely unready for a no-deal exit from the European Union. Pretending otherwise helps no one. In recent weeks, the government has started making some frantic preparations. It has directed 2 billion pounds to ...

A new year, a new central bank governor. Yet the first salvo to come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy arsenal in 2019 is encouragement of good old “extend and pretend” lending. Banks and shadow banks are being allowed a one-time restructuring of loans of up to 250 million rupees ($3.6 million) to micro, small and medium ...

Investors like targets – even ambitious ones – as long as they’re grounded in reality. South Korea’s flailing automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., are targeting combined sales of 7.6 million vehicles in 2019, slightly more than their 2018 target, the companies said in regulatory filings. That’s bold considering the global auto market is forecast to shrink at ...