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By John Foley
Auditors in China can no longer claim that “state secrets” prohibit disclosure to the U.S. watchdog. That should keep Chinese companies from being banned in U.S. markets. There are open questions about sovereignty and state capitalism, but those are fights for another day.

Bank governance stigma can be fixed lickety-split

By Jeffrey Goldfarb
It’s easy to see how Jamie Dimon would consider an independent chairman at JPMorgan a demotion for him. If peers like Lloyd Blankfein hold both top jobs, CEOs only may feel like second-class citizens. U.S. financial regulators could turn the division of labor into a virtue.

Blame Japan’s debt on companies, not the state

By Andy Mukherjee
Perennial budget deficits have helped to offset corporate deleveraging. That explains why public debt is so high. If Prime Minister Abe’s policies revive private investment, the government’s track record suggests it will tighten its belt by raising taxes. Tokyo won’t go bust.

Buoyant markets too sanguine on end-of-QE threat

By Ian Campbell
The bursting of the gold bubble is just the harbinger. Other asset classes are vulnerable to the U.S. central bank dialling down its money-printing programme. Safe-haven bonds are already easing. Commodities look next in line. Stocks are the best bet but they too may suffer.

Goldman trumps HSBC in financial Chinese chequers

By John Foley
Selling its final stake in lender ICBC leaves Goldman Sachs with an annual return on its investment of around 36 percent. HSBC, which just sold out of insurer Ping An after ten years, notched up a lesser 23 percent. The reason: the UK lender put strategic value before profit.

Pyrrhic victory for Dimon is defeat for governance

By Agnes Crane
JPMorgan chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon spent months focused on preserving a title when he should have been totally dedicated to running the largest U.S. bank. The episode perfectly illustrates the common sense behind separating the chairman and CEO roles.
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Apple tax fight needs global response

By Edward Hadas
The tech giant followed the law, but its aggressive use of Irish subsidiaries to reduce tax payments fails the smell test. Ireland comes off as an unscrupulous tax haven, while the U.S. government looked the other way. It’s time for a new international deal on corporate taxes.
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