Huge losses at SoftBank’s flagship Vision Funds will force the company to begin “dramatic” cost-cutting after plunging technology valuations and a weak yen drove Masayoshi Son’s embattled conglomerate into a record ¥3.1tn ($23bn) quarterly net loss. In a press conference that Son himself described as “depressing”, he admitted that his famously aggressive global investment strategy

When an international dispute has been rumbling on for decades, it can seem like a chronic condition that will never become terminal. The US and China were squaring off about Taiwan in the 1950s. I wrote a cover story for The Economist on the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1995. So it is tempting to see

China has extended military drills around Taiwan, stoking fears of a drawn-out period of heightened tension that is piling pressure on the US to respond. Beijing’s largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan had been expected to wind down after navigation warnings for seven areas around the country expired early on Monday. But the People’s Liberation Army

Private equity giant Carlyle Group is replacing its chief executive Kewsong Lee, who will leave the New York and Washington-based group just two years after he was appointed in July 2020. The exit throws the $376bn group’s leadership into renewed upheaval as it navigates a more challenging investment environment, with volatile markets and a pullback

Much has been written about whether Big Tech has peaked. Meta recently announced its first sales drop, amid a fall in online advertising. Amazon, Netflix and others have cut back on hiring. Plenty of platforms have seen their stock prices crushed this year, which is typical as rates go up, and their growth slow. But

Russell Anderson is a man who has learned to live within his humble means. After a chronic illness forced him to retire as a coach driver three years ago, he managed to stretch his benefits to cover his bills, including rent and fuel. Increasingly, he has found that balancing act harder to juggle. Anderson, who

Investors are selling stakes in private equity and venture capital funds this year at the fastest pace on record, as the downturn in equities spreads to the private markets that boomed during the era of low interest rates. Pension and sovereign wealth funds were among those that sold $33bn worth of stakes in private funds

Messages from the archive of Rutherford Hall, critical communications strategist From: Rutherford@monkwellstrategy.com To: JamesW@LKandW.co.uk Hi James, No, I really don’t think now is the right moment to give money to Liz Truss. In general, we advise caution on political donations, but in any case you have left it far too late. While her team will