Associated British Foods Plc’s Primark is not the only European discounter winning over American shoppers. Research from footfall-analysis company Placer.ai shows that budget grocers Aldi Einkauf SE and German rival Lidl, part of Germany’s Schwarz Group, are gaining traction with US consumers too. This could accelerate further as inflation takes its toll on household spending. And that should worry the ...

Cranks are considered cranks for a reason. That is the lesson from Sri Lanka, which has halted payments of its foreign debt and warned that it may default. The country’s ruling dynasty — led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister (and former president) Mahinda Rajapaksa — have lost most of their cabinet and parliamentary majority. Earlier this ...

  Singapore’s finance minister, Lawrence Wong, has solidified his place as the front runner to succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. As the now-undisputed leader of a rising political class, the top job is his to lose. Just don’t expect the Lee era to end next month, or even next year. Wong’s ascent puts to rest a rare period of ...