Business
Notes from the undertaker
Russia’s dysfunctional funeral business gets a makeover
The government’s need for revenue and a shoot-out at a cemetery prompt reform of an often corrupt sector
Feelings under wraps
New research reveals simmering misunderstanding under the tree
The psychology of presents
Net wars
A vote on “net neutrality” has intensified a battle over the internet’s future
America’s FCC repeals Obama-era rules that ensure all web traffic is treated equally
The tobacco paradox
Combustible cigarettes kill millions a year. Can Big Tobacco save them?
New, safer products such as heated-tobacco devices and e-cigarettes mean the tobacco industry could become less of a public-health enemy
Home runs
An experiment with in-home deliveries is under way
Amazon and other firms want people to trade a little privacy and security in return for online shopping ease
Let the games begin
American business has concerns on tax reform
The Republicans’ tax reform offers opportunities to game complex rules
Blockbusted
Not even “The Last Jedi” will reverse Americans’ retreat from cinemas
Tickets sold per head have declined to their lowest point since the early 1970s, before the introduction of the multiplex
Who audits the auditors?
America’s Public Company Accounting Oversight Board gets a new boss
A new regime at America’s audit watchdog could undermine progress
Adéu to Catalonia
Companies in the region vote with their feet against political uncertainty
Over 3,000 firms have moved legal headquarters to elsewhere in Spain; 1,000 have shifted their fiscal base
Vacant spaces
The global property business tries to adapt to e-commerce
Many retail properties will slump but others have brighter prospects
Schumpeter
The Santa clause
A festive memo from one of America’s leading chief executives to his lieutenants
Broken furniture
An accounting scandal sends Steinhoff plummeting
The owner of Poundland, Conforama and Mattress Firm loses €10.7bn of its market value