Breakingviews

The CFTC wants to inspect source codes of trading firms without a subpoena. The U.S. agency says it’s needed for records retention. Unclear is whether the regulator can safeguard such intellectual property, and it opens the door for other officials to request similar access.

France’s bond yields are rising while Germany’s are falling. It’s a warning markets may doubt the integrity of the euro zone if a UK exit triggers copycat referendums. The ECB has neither the power nor the mandate to fight the kind of extreme outcomes that could ensue.

China is pushing environmental finance, but rules and definitions are fuzzy. Hong Kong’s large pool of capital and transparent regulation give it the credentials to whip this immature market into shape. With just one green bond under its belt, however, the city has work to do.

Following the Orlando massacre, Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger shares jumped on the notion that Americans will rush to stockpile weapons before legislators crack down. The link between national security and lax firearms laws this time around makes the investment thesis riskier.

Satya Nadella’s $26 bln deal could reinvigorate the software giant’s slipping grip on corporate computer systems and employee interactions. Paying a 50 pct premium for a flawed business raises several red flags, however. Microsoft’s M&A record doesn’t inspire confidence, either.

People the world over sympathize with the dozens killed in an Orlando nightclub. Whatever the attacker’s motives, though, Washington’s allies can’t fathom the richest nation’s continuing failure to control access to lethal weapons. It’s a blind spot that saps America’s influence.

Picture the scene: the UK’s referendum on EU membership looms, and polls have swung heavily in favour of leaving. Panic grips 10 Downing Street. Yet there may be another way. Breakingviews imagines how a senior adviser to the prime minister might suggest the unthinkable.

Seoul may be Asia’s coolest destination right now, and Lotte Group’s flagship duty-free arm ought to profit handsomely. But raids have derailed the unit’s $4.5 bln listing and drawn attention to Korea’s uglier side: its powerful, opaque and poorly governed conglomerates.

The swashbuckling investor, who has died at 84, pioneered the venture-capital model that gave rise to the likes of Google and Amazon. Famous for his antics outside the boardroom, Perkins ended up an outsider in the more buttoned-down corporate culture his money helped create.

The distributed-ledger concept is linked to the bitcoin cryptocurrency, and more recently potential financial uses have taken wing. A new book, “Blockchain Revolution,” explores democratic and humanitarian applications. It’s both eye-opening and, at times, a bit wide-eyed.