Economies need competition to work. Almost all basic economic theories, including supply and demand itself, rely on the assumption that companies lower prices to undercut the competition whenever possible. If sellers can set whatever prices they like, that’s a monopoly. And as any good Econ 101 class will teach you, monopolies hold production below its economically efficient level, in order ...

  Change can sneak up on lawmakers and judges, rendering old laws obsolete. Often, that’s harmless. (When was the last time you ran afoul of Reno’s ban on benches in streets or Wyoming’s prohibition on fishing with firearms?) But sometimes, laws that once served a good purpose can get in the way of progress. That’s what’s going on now in ...

  He is the least sentimental of the media moguls, known for being a dispassionate judge of a business’s worth. And now he wants to sell Time Warner. Maybe we should be listening to what Jeff Bewkes is telling us. Sure, there are lots of other things one can discuss regarding the AT&T-Time Warner deal: AT&T’s plan for a 5G-wireless ...

  London / AFP The British government approved a new third runway at London’s Heathrow airport on Tuesday in a long-awaited decision that comes amid deep divisions and follows decades of debate over the issue. “The government today announced its support for a new runway at Heathrow — the first full length runway in the southeast since the Second World ...

  Bloomberg Southend airport, seeking to become London’s sixth hub even though it’s almost an hour away on the North Sea, will operate its own flights in a bid to demonstrate the viability of an expanded timetable to carriers frustrated by capacity curbs at the far bigger Heathrow and Gatwick bases. The services to cities in mainland Europe will employ ...

  Bloomberg Alaska Air Group Inc. received permission for a five-week delay in starting service on a prized flight between Havana and Los Angeles, as regulators rejected an attempt by JetBlue Airways Corp. to secure the route and move it to Boston. The U.S. Transportation Department agreed Alaska could wait until Jan. 5 to begin the service instead of the ...

  Bloomberg Orange SA reported a 1.6 percent increase in third-quarter earnings, helped by rising wireless sales in Spain and Africa and demand for faster broadband in its home market of France. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose to 3.6 billion euros ($3.9 billion), Orange said in a statement Tuesday. That compared with the average analyst estimate ...

  Bloomberg KFC’s partnership with an Alibaba affiliate puts the pressure on the Golden Arches in China more than ever. By allying with a backer of the country’s top food delivery website, KFC owner Yum Brands has taken a step toward solving the dilemma of slowing growth in its biggest market outside the US. It’s a deal that McDonald’s, which ...

  Bloomberg Julius Baer Group Ltd., DBS Group Holdings Ltd. and LGT Bank are considering bids for ABN Amro Group NV’s private-banking business in Asia, people with knowledge of the matter said. The banks have expressed interest in the ABN Amro unit and will study more detailed information on its business, according to the people, who asked not to be ...

  Bloomberg Swedbank AB’s profit jumped 23 percent in the third quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, as Sweden’s biggest mortgage lender generated more revenue while keeping impairments in check. Net income in the three months through September reached 4.82 billion kronor ($541 million), compared with 3.93 billion kronor a year earlier, the Stockholm-based bank said on Tuesday. That was well above ...