Breakingviews

A slowdown in venture capital is squeezing smaller tech hopefuls. Many have flocked to the "New Third Board" but it's hard to raise new equity on this moribund over-the-counter market. Some cash-strapped groups may sell out to larger rivals, or cut costs and hope for the best.

The Justice Department was kept in the dark until the last minute about the San Francisco-based bank's alleged fake accounts and its $185 mln fine. That's why prosecutors are only just now kicking off a probe. The abundance of U.S. financial watchdogs demands better teamwork.

With two acquisitions worth over $30 bln pending – and the purchase of Alere, in particular, not going smoothly – the $62 bln health firm is vulnerable. Selling its eye-surgery unit to J&J gives Abbott needed financial breathing room and perhaps extra leverage with Alere.

A new study finds trading prowess is linked to accurate detection of one's own heartbeat, a trait common in people with lower body mass indexes. Despite its limitations, the paper implies physiology has a profound role in markets, and that humans still have an edge on machines.

The Bank of Japan faces a conundrum in its battle to revive inflation. It can’t keep buying $800 bln of bonds a year for much longer, but negative rates are deeply unpopular. This week’s big policy review might require the BOJ to make other concessions to the financial industry.

The bank that steered clear of the financial crisis breaks down after creating 2 mln fake accounts. New evidence undermines Donald Trump's claims few benefit from the U.S. economic recovery. And why Hanjin's corporate capsize may prompt attempts to fix to shipping-industry woes.

The region hasn't produced its own answers to tech disruptors like Facebook and Alibaba. That leaves the EU open to accusations of sour grapes when foreign companies like Apple are targeted for unpaid taxes. Regulation and fragmented markets explain Europe's failure to launch.

The German lender insists it won't pay as much as the $14 bln proposed by the U.S. Justice Department. But even two-thirds of that amount would deplete its reserves, a Breakingviews calculator shows. Deutsche may then need to sell assets to meet rising capital requirements.

The Republican White House nominee says his proposals to cut taxes and red tape would boost output growth to 3.5 pct a year and create 25 million jobs over a decade. The huge potential cost of Trump's plans only shrinks thanks to heroic assumptions about their likely benefits.

U.S. authorities aren't finished with the $1.9 trln bank's fake-accounts scandal. Top brass at small lenders have been punished harshly in the past, including industry bans, for misdeeds. If Wells Fargo executives slip away, it'll escalate tension over the accountability divide.