The nine most terrifying words in the English language, Ronald Reagan once joked, are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” For anyone involved in commodity markets, there’s a still more alarming version: “I’m from the Chinese government, and I’m here to stabilise prices.” That’s reason to be highly skeptical that Beijing’s plans to rein in the wild ...

  Russia’s war for Ukraine’s territory is being waged with tanks and artillery, but the battle for the world’s hearts and minds is being fought largely on social media — and there, at least, Vladimir Putin is losing. Cell phone videos of desperate Ukrainians huddled in subways have a power difficult to convey in words. Images captured by ordinary citizens ...

Bloomberg A Ukrainian delegation led by the defense minister began talks with Russian officials on the fifth day of an invasion that’s triggered a flurry of sanctions against Moscow and sent Russian markets into a tailspin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has voiced skepticism that the talks, taking place on the country’s border with Belarus, would yield results but said he ...