“Paddington 2 is the greatest film ever made,” one user posted on X in 2022. This tweet was not ironic. In the seven years since its release in January 2018, the film about a marmalade-loving bear’s quest to find the perfect gift for his beloved aunt has become an internet phenomenon, spawning memes, think pieces … Read more
Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, met on Monday with a group of corporate chieftains, including the entrepreneur Jack Ma, who was sidelined by the government four years ago, in a show of support for private business at an economically precarious time. The heads of the electronics companies Huawei and Xiaomi, the battery maker CATL and … Read more
After decades of dominating China’s market for high-performance cars with precision engineering, German automakers are losing out to Chinese rivals that have shifted the definition of a high-end car to one that is electric, smart and affordable. Many new Chinese vehicles resemble their German rivals, like the wildly popular Xiaomi SU7, which mimics Porsche’s Taycan. … Read more
The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said. The systems at the I.R.S. contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking … Read more
For decades in Japan, it was accepted as gospel: A weak currency makes companies more competitive and bolsters the economy. Part of that promise came true last year: As the yen tumbled to a 37-year low against the dollar, big brands like Toyota Motor reported the highest profits in Japanese history. Stocks soared to record … Read more
Instead, the Rutherford leaned heavily on Charlotte Kullen. Her six-hour deposition, taken in September 2022, is difficult to read, in part because it captures her distress and in part because that distress is, legally speaking, beside the point. The judge overseeing the case signaled that she wanted a mediator to help the sides come to … Read more
The world economy was already grappling with a perplexing assortment of variables, from geopolitical conflicts and a slowdown in China to the evolving complexities of climate change. Then, President Trump unleashed a plan to uproot decades of trade policy. In starting a process to impose so-called reciprocal tariffs on American trading partners, Mr. Trump increased … Read more
At the height of the superhero boom a few years ago, Disney pushed its Marvel assembly lines to run faster and faster. After awhile, quality suffered and ticket sales declined. So Disney slowed the pace. Last year, Marvel released one movie (the megasuccessful “Deadpool & Wolverine”) and two Disney+ series. To compare, in 2021 Marvel … Read more
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, rejected an offer by the Trump administration to relinquish half of the country’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support, according to five people briefed on the proposal or with direct knowledge of the talks. The unusual deal would have granted the United States … Read more
President Trump’s promise to hit the United States’ trading partners with tit-for-tat tariffs — including penalties for taxes that he claims the European Union unfairly imposes on American imports — could hardly come at a worse time for the continent. Mr. Trump on Thursday signed a memo directing his teams to prepare by April “reciprocal” … Read more