In the US, central bankers trade stocks and federal judges hear cases of companies in which they hold financial interests. The first is legal (but controversial); the second is illegal but not uncommon. In China, however, the official position on such issues is: No. As President Xi Jinping reins in…

From the US to the European Union, governments are clearly uneasy with the pervasive power of Big Tech: The influence of their social media platforms on elections, the security of the vast amount of consumer data they store, and the exploitation of gig economy workers who don’t enjoy health…

The fallout from Didi Global Inc.’s New York listing at the end of June have generated securities fraud class action suits. If the US lawyers behind those cases are looking for fresh ammunition to use against China’s ride-hailing giant, could they find it in ByteDance Ltd., China’s other big…

Bitcoin lovers, cry foul! Accounting firms are restricting corporations from holding the cryptocurrency as assets even as they give free rein to venture capital firms — such as SoftBank Group Corp. — to invest in equally risky and volatile unicorns. MicroStrategy Inc. and Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc…

Judging from the patriotic floral arrangements sprawling over city squares, preparations for the 100th birthday of China’s Communist Party are over the top. Most of the population of 1.4 billion are focused on the big fireworks displays and extravagant parades. But investors, financial bloggers and…

China has two problems with opposite momentums — one of seemingly irreversible shrinkage; the other of uncontrollable sprawl. The first has been written about a lot recently: The slowing population growth that threatens the country’s economy. It’s hard for the government to convince people not to…

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the Big Three rating companies were blamed for their enabling roles in the subprime mortgage crisis. Troubled securitized products would not have been marketed and sold without their seal of investment-grade approval. In fact, investors relied on…

In a bond world that doesn’t pay interest, China’s real-estate developers are a real standout. They have survived the European debt crisis, Beijing’s draconian deleveraging campaigns and the Covid-19 lockdown. Each time the market pulls back, bankers tell their wealthy clients to buy, for fear of…

China’s willingness to extend credit has transformed it into the best friend of emerging markets. But there are reasons to believe the flow of easy money may suddenly dry up — just as distressed economies from Argentina and Venezuela to Turkey and Pakistan look to Beijing for a lifeline that would…