A century is a long time to accumulate bad habits. Goodyear Tire & Rubber on Wednesday said it would try to shed some, by selling $2 billion of assets, streamlining its business and paying down debt. Corporate cage-rattler Elliott Investment Management, which won seats on the board in July, blessed the moves, which echo shifts rocking other aged industrial icons ..read more

“Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Ronald Reagan’s declaration when he took over the U.S. presidency in January 1981 signalled the start of a new economic era steered by markets and enterprises rather than the state. The 2008 financial crisis marked a temporary return to public interventions, but the global pandemic followed by the invasion of Ukraine may represent a more lasting turning point. As elected officials exert a bigger influence on their countries’ financial fortunes, investors need to pick assets that can thrive in new market conditions ..read more

To meet the challenge of a rising China, the Australian Navy is taking two very different deep dives into advanced submarine technology ..read more

Some technology experts believe innovative commercial software developers now entering the arms market are challenging the dominance of the traditional defense industry, which produces big-ticket weapons, sometimes at glacial speed ..read more

Some technology experts believe innovative commercial software developers now entering the arms market are challenging the dominance of the traditional defense industry, which produces big-ticket weapons, sometimes at glacial speed ..read more

France's Thales is doubling down on cybersecurity with its $3.6 billion purchase of U.S. firm Imperva. The $30-billion aerospace and defence group has been on a shopping spree over the past two years, seeking to transform itself into a powerhouse that oversees data protection and digital-identity management for organisations. Thales's boss Patrice Caine briefly considered buying Atos's cybersecurity arm last year, but didn’t go through with it. Imperva is its biggest cyber deal so far. But investors are far from impressed. Thales's stock initially slid 2% on Tuesday after it unveiled the deal ..read more

Six months after calling Rolls-Royce a “burning platform”, Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic is giving Britain’s flagship engineering group a high five. The 15 billion pound aero-engine maker hiked its full-year operating profit forecast for 2023, citing a tangible impact from operational improvements, cost reduction measures and the turnaround of unprofitable contracts. Shares spiked 20% as investors celebrated the possibility of free cash flow hitting 1 billion pounds in 2023, 37% above consensus ..read more

In the summer of 2022, just months after Russia invaded Ukraine, Taiwan’s president gathered senior officials from her ruling party in downtown Taipei. On the agenda: How was Ukraine, in its war with Russia, successfully offsetting the advantages of a much more powerful foe ..read more

The Russian president restored a semblance of calm in Moscow after an aborted mutiny. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate what this means for the country’s invasion of its neighbour. It’s helpful, but not necessarily transformative, for Kyiv’s resistance ..read more

The Virgin Galactic countdown has begun. Richard Branson’s space tourism company said on Thursday it plans to launch its first commercial flight within days. The news sent the company’s shares rocketing up 30%, pushing its enterprise value to $1 billion. It’s just one-seventh of where it stood in 2020, but still factors in some moonshots ..read more