The son of tycoon Li Ka-shing, Richard Li recently snatched HKT from the grasp of Singapore Telecom, a government-linked corporation, just as it was about to close a deal for a majority stake in Hong Kong's dominant telco.

CNN: From Our Correspondent: Under Siege

So, too, have workers at United Airlines: a bankruptcy judge recently ruled that the firm could hand its pension plan over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a government-linked pension insurer that pays only partial benefits to high-earners.

ECONOMIST: Getting greyer—and poorer too? | The