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‘Back channels’ have been used by every modern president, from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. If that’s so, what’s the problem with the pre-inauguration contacts between White House adviser Jared Kushner and two Russian intermediaries? It’s a fair question. But that doesn’t mean that the right answer is a reflexive approval of Kushner’s contacts, as offered by Homeland Security ...

Balance-sheet turbulence at large Indian companies is nothing new. The $180 billion of stressed assets in the banking system are mainly due to about 60 big corporate accounts. Yet two things make this week’s meltdown in the shares and debentures of Reliance Communications Ltd an unusual cautionary tale. Banks and bondholders are sitting on a combined $7 billion exposure to ...

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s election campaign has run into a spot of bother. Less than a month ago the Tories were leading Labour by more than 20 percentage points and heading, it seemed, for a landslide victory on June 8. One recent poll has cut that lead to just five points. The setback is May’s fault — and, oddly ...

If Donald Trump and Barack Obama agree on something, does that mean it’s true? In the case of Europe’s woeful support of its collective defense, yes: Member states need to contribute their “fair share” toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a phrase both men used in speeches in European capitals. The question is what “fair share” means. Instead of measuring ...

Economists, to put it mildly, are not known for their communication skills. The typical economics paper is written in a formal, stilted style, laden with phrases like ‘in the following subsection’ and ‘it has been shown that.’ Jargon flies thick and fast, interspersed with highly formalized mathematical definitions and propositions. For a non-economist to hack through the verbal jungle of ...

Why so surprised, bank investors? Shares of two of the largest US lenders, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., tumbled recently to their lowest levels in at least four months after executives said second-quarter trading revenue is poised to fall at least 10 percent from the same period a year ago. Rival Wall Street banks with large ...

The laptop ban is coming. Can anyone doubt it? The latest signal came on Fox News Sunday, when Chris Wallace interviewed President Donald Trump’s secretary of homeland security, John Kelly. “Are you going to ban laptops in the cabins on all international flights into and out of the US?” Wallace asked. “I might,” Kelly replied, flashing the small, satisfied smile ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is already in your pocket, on your desk and underneath your television. Soon, a device embossed with “Designed by Apple in California” may be on your nightstand or kitchen counter as well. The iPhone-maker has started manufacturing a long-in-the-works Siri-controlled smart speaker, according to people familiar with the matter. Apple could debut the speaker as soon as ...

Bloomberg BlackBerry Ltd. shares reached their highest price in more than two years after short-seller Citron Research said the company was a likely target for a buyout at a high premium. The stock gained 7.9 percent to $11.40 at 1:20 p.m. in New York, after earlier hitting $11.74, the highest intraday price since January 2015. Citron recommends investors buy shares, ...

Bloomberg SoftBank Group Corp. is in discussions with potential investors in Canada and the Middle East to raise $7 billion of additional capital for its technology fund, according to people familiar with the matter. The Japanese company is in talks with Canadian pension funds, sovereign wealth funds in Kuwait and Qatar and technology companies, the people said, asking not to ...