Can China, Lisbon, Brussels and international shareholders all get on? Last week’s bid for Portuguese power generator EDP-Energias de Portugal SA by China’s biggest clean energy group throws contrasting agendas into stark relief. Lisbon appears intensely relaxed about China Three Gorges Corp.’s 9.1 billion-euro ($11 billion) buyout plan. But shareholders, the European Commission and possible counter-bidders stand in the Chinese ...

Neither this year’s impressive corporate earnings results nor the synchronized pickup in global growth nor record levels of stock buybacks by companies has led to impressive gains in stocks. Despite a seven-day winning streak, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the May 11 trading session just 0.03 percent above where it started the year. It’s a similar story for the ...

Cracks are beginning to appear in the investment theses pinned to the future of robots and the rise of machines. Over the past 30 years, the cost of robots, now a feature of almost any production line, has fallen by about 50 percent, according to McKinsey & Co. Demand from industries from automotive to food, where the marginal value of ...