Breakingviews

Investors and companies are ill prepared for the rising scarcity of this most important natural resource. With World Water Day on March 22, Thirst CEO Mina Guli lays out the issues and explains why she decided to run 100 marathons in 100 days to draw attention to the problem.

Rugby Union teams awarded a penalty near the opponent’s goal line face a dilemma. Should they kick a penalty between the H-shaped posts and earn an easy three points, or attempt to ground the ball beyond the posts for a so-called try, earning seven? That’s one way to think about the choice between a 500 million pound private equity bid from CVC for the Six Nations Championship, and a more ambitious 5 billion pound plan by governing body World Rugby for a wider gl

Dianrong’s boss has daringly said what many are probably thinking. Guo Yuhang, co-founder and co-chairman of one of China’s biggest peer-to-peer lenders, blamed the government for his company’s sluggishness. Such regulatory grievances are common from bankers elsewhere, but rare in China. The complaints will strike a chord in the industry even if they don’t alter the course of mercurial rules.

Overexcited, overpaid and over here. The comic line once aimed at American soldiers in Europe also summarises the involvement of U.S. banks in the possible merger of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank. If the deal happens, it could owe much to Wall Street nous.

Boeing’s losses are not Airbus’ gains. The $215 billion U.S. aerospace giant may have suspended deliveries of its ill-fated 737 MAX 8 jet after two crashes in five months, and that theoretically should benefit its European peer. Unfortunately for 91 billion euro Airbus, chock-full production lines and order books stretching for years mean it can’t take up much slack.

Things are getting testier at Japan Inc. In a rare act of domestic corporate aggression, trading house Itochu snatched a degree of control over $1.8 billion sportswear maker Descente. Toshiba, meanwhile, faces a shareholder insurrection while electronics group Alps Alpine has been sued over the merger that created the company. These hostilities are helping propel Shinzo Abe’s so-called third arrow.

Mark Zuckerberg’s inner circle just got smaller. Chris Cox, the Facebook chief executive's long-time lieutenant and chief product officer, is quitting after Zuckerberg last week outlined a new direction for the $470 billion social network. It’s hard to overstate how instrumental Cox has been. His departure is a wake-up call for investors.

On the face of it, the English Premier League is on a high. Millions of fans worldwide watch its matches every weekend, and its 20 member clubs generate as much revenue as their Spanish and Italian rivals combined. Half of the eight quarter finalists in this year’s UEFA Champions League are from England.

Volkswagen’s Herbert Diess has effortlessly claimed pole position on the grid of foot-in-mouth chief executives. The boss of the 74 billion euro carmaker on Thursday apologised for evoking a Nazi slogan by saying “EBIT macht frei”, and was forced to acknowledge that his company’s dark history gave it a “special responsibility in connection with the Third Reich”. Call it peak gaffe.