The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Welcome to the new chief executive of HSBC... and good luck The banking giant suffers constant distractions from outside events and protagonists even as it concentrates on its day job
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: This bull market is phenomenal but exceptionally vulnerableThe departure of JP Morgan’s chief strategist after a series of mistimed calls shows few can predict the current market, but that does not mean it will last
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Iran has a chance to increase freedom, but changing its stance on terror is unlikely The victory of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian over the hardline conservatives’ nominee has been seen as a sign of moderation in the extremely clerical state
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Paramount takeover saga tells the story of Hollywood: the sequelThe iconic studio was blindsided by Netflix, which has disrupted the movie business as much as Amazon disrupted the retail industry
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Banning non-compete clauses would mean open season for poaching specialised staff A US ruling sounds good in principle but would be unhelpful in practice and remove the right of companies and their employees to forge their own deals
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Far right advance is not a crisis for EU democracy, it’s a crisis for capitalismThe resurgent right wing across Europe and the US have one thing in common — hostility to free markets and open economies
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Upcoming election will end a terrible period of mis-government for our British friendsA reflection from our columnist of his time stationed in London for the Financial Times and his views of the forthcoming general election
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Julian Assange is free but free speech has been damagedProper journalism cannot survive without leaks, and leakers
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: After much turmoil, at last the people of South Africa can look to a fresh startFor the first time since 1994, the ANC lost its majority in parliament after its share of the popular vote tumbled to 40 per cent
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Elon Musk’s $56bn pay deal shows just how far removed Tesla’s board is from realityExecutives at the EV firm may come to rue the day they signed off on such an extraordinary package
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: High time Europe embraces and prioritises its defence industryIf Europe is to protect its sovereignty and way of life, it must build a defence industry with the capacity to offer security in all its dimensions
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Emmanuel Macron’s unpopularity contest sparks fresh political chaos The French president is unpopular at home despite winning impressive mandates from the electorate. Now he’s rolling the dice once more
Travel The majesty and grandeur of the Rocky Mountains makes for a trip of a lifetime in ColoradoFrom scenic hikes and trails through the stunning Rockies to the culture and art of beautiful Denver, the Centennial State has something for everyone
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: At a time of great strain, wave of elections across the world is empowering citizensFrom South Africa to Taiwan, citizens have queued up to elect, re-elect, throw out and usher in new leaders, governments and times
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: US plays catch up with EU on AI; London stock exchange’s latest cry for helpAI has come to dominate investor sentiment towards the stock market to the extent that the movement of interest rates no longer does
The Big Picture Exxon plays hardball with its own shareholders over climate crisisOil giants seems to have decided only way to keep investors from creating a fuss over climate change is to sue them into silence
The Big Picture Ireland’s move to recognise Palestine is premature and counterproductiveI have defended Israel’s right to defend itself, but toll of Palestinian dead is monstrous
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Biden’s breach of the principles of global trade is a major step backwardAs liberal democracy faces threats from the extremes of right and left, what we need is more global commerce, not less
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Putin has vested interest in keeping Georgia inside Russia’s sphere of influence True courage can be seen on the streets of Tbilisi in the face of domestic instability and outside interference, not least from Moscow
Analysis Boss of Spanish bank BBVA has picked a fight he looks like losingCarlos Torres Vila has taken an unusual and risky step in his attempt to buy Banco Sabadell, a smaller domestic rival – he has gone hostile