The most commonly cited reasons for the surge of interest in passive investing products are fee savings and skepticism about the ability of active funds to outperform. Most likely, these two factors explain a dominant part of the record flow into an ever-widening range of these investments, including mutual funds and ETFs. But they may not be the only reasons. …

With all this love for bitcoin, spare a thought for the little guy. Despite a plethora of new coins coming online in the past year, and the emergence of ethereum as an alternative cryptocurrency, bitcoin is still sucking up most of the oxygen. Without a doubt, the new coins’ sponsors owe a debt of gratitude to bitcoin for blazing a …

Enshrined in the Constitution, the census is among the federal government’s most fundamental responsibilities. It is also one the government is perilously close to flunking, unless Congress and the administration act now. The decennial census is arguably the most important data set the government produces. It determines how many representatives each state sends to Washington, who sends them there, and …

An influential new recruit has joined the chorus of bitcoin skeptics. The chief investment officer of UBS, the world’s biggest wealth manager, says it’s too risky to be added to the firm’s portfolios — and his assessment is relatively mild. Others have called it “the very definition of a bubble” and even “a fraud.” Those stronger terms are justified, especially …

According to one of India’s most respected bankers, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—a mammoth sale of distressed assets, some $40 billion in the first round. Much could go wrong, of course, especially given that so many powerful interests have so much money at stake in the process. Fortunately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has stumbled in some of its biggest …

By making a bid to push Reliance Communications Ltd into bankruptcy, China Development Bank (CDB) has one what Indian lenders were trying their best to avoid. But now that it’s pulled the trigger, State Bank of India and other domestic creditors won’t be terribly unhappy. The Indian wireless company owes one fifth of its $7 billion debt to CDB, which organized …

Recent developments in the media world are suddenly highlighting the takeover value of also-ran TV-network operators such as AMC Networks Inc. and Viacom Inc., just as many of their stocks trade near lows. AT&T Inc.’s pending acquisition of Time Warner Inc., the parent of HBO, has been hogging the media spotlight, with the US Justice Department suing to block the …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is designing its own power-management chips for use in iPhones from as early as 2018, reducing its dependence on Dialog Semiconductor Plc, Japan’s Nikkei reported, without identifying its sources. The report sent Dialog plunging the most in almost eight months. Such chips handle charging and power-management functions in smartphones, and UK-based Dialog relies on Apple for about …

Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. announced new voice-activated tools for the workplace, hoping that verbal commands—“Alexa, print my spreadsheet”—will handle common office tasks. Alexa for Business will let users issue voice commands to begin a video conference or print documents, among a multitude of common workplace functions, Amazon said at its cloud computing conference in Las Vegas. “You no longer ever have …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook made his first appearance at China’s World Internet Conference, using the surprise keynote to call for future internet and AI technologies to be infused with privacy, security and humanity. Cook made the comments on Sunday at the opening ceremony for the conference—an event designed to globally promote the country’s vision of a …