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Bloomberg Peter Thiel is considering strategies to invest in Chinese startups as US venture capital firms seek a piece of the country’s fast growing technology sector, people familiar with the matter said. The conservative billionaire is weighing different approaches for investment, including raising a fund directly or through a partnership, two of the people said, asking not to be identified ...

We Americans have long been obsessed with economic growth — “pros- perity” in everyday lingo. The idea that we have some sort of special aptitude for invention, wealth creation and economic self-improvement is part of our imagined national character. It’s who we are. Not only that, but prosperity plays a crucial political role. It enables us to raise living standards ...

The escalating trade war is forcing automakers to rethink how they do business. BMW AG has just put its chips on the table in China. The German company could become the first foreign carmaker to own a majority stake in a Chinese joint venture as it mulls a new ownership structure for its arrangement with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., ...

If something cannot go on forever, well then, it will eventually stop. So said economist Herbert Stein when he made this obvious but insightful observation. Trees do not grow to the sky, and matters that are truly unsustainable eventually come to an end. The most recent example of something that can’t go on forever has been the inflows into low-cost, ...

Announcing plans for additional tariffs on $200 billion of imports, the Trump administration has taken another dangerous step toward escalating its trade war on China. China’s response, so far, has been measured, and that’s encouraging. The US Congress has managed only the feeblest gesture of protest, and that’s disgraceful. The president has told US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to draw ...

The European Commission had solid antitrust reasons for fining Google 4.3 billion euros ($5 billion) for violations including the bundling of certain apps with the Android operating system — and for not going after Apple for similar behaviour. Yet, from a consumer’s point of view, Apple should get the same kind of attention. The most important infraction by Google in ...

When a company vehemently rejects an unsolicited bid approach, it needs to convince investors that it made the right decision. Unilever, which saw off a $143 billion approach from Kraft Heinz Co 18 months ago, is doing just the opposite. The company reported second quarter organic sales growth below analysts’ expectations. There was some better news on the underlying operating ...

What do you do when your dumping ground cleans up its act? That’s the problem confronting the oil market as the global shipping industry starts implementing regulations to limit its consumption of sulfur, a common impurity in crude that can cause respiratory problems and acid rain when it’s burned. As we saw in a column, rules on sulfur content coming ...

Bloomberg Indonesia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged after three hikes in a row helped to stabilize the currency in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The seven-day reverse repurchase rate was held at 5.25%, in line with forecasts of 25 of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Governor Perry Warjiyo said the policy stance remains “hawkish” with the central bank’s ...

Bloomberg Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stuck to the bank’s playbook, declining to comment on reports that policy makers are considering measures to soften the side effects of their aggressive monetary easing campaign. Remarks on the issue wouldn’t be appropriate given the proximity of the bank’s monetary policy meeting, Kuroda said, adding that any policy decision will require ...