London’s future status as the financial capital of Europe is a key factor in the debate about whether the UK should leave the European Union. It would be a mistake for either side of the argument to underestimate quite how aggressively London’s competitors would attempt to wrest trading revenue away from the UK capital should the June 23 referendum vote …

Economic reforms are much like New Year’s diet resolutions: easily announced and easily forgotten. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the pronouncements that have emerged from China’s National People’s Congress — pledges to slash overcapacity, open up the financial system, accept lower growth — echo unfulfilled promises from previous Party gatherings. Still, China prides itself on being different. The …

A little more than a decade ago, Hong Kong was the world’s busiest port. Giant vessels competed to get into the city’s berths, waiting to load and unload containers filled with goods manufactured just over the border in China’s factory towns. Back then, Hong Kong still expected that its freewheeling commercial culture could change China for the better. And trading …