Theresa May’s government is still promising to quit Europe’s customs union when Brexit happens next year. The prime minister’s position is politically understandable, yet entirely indefensible. And it perfectly captures the bind Britain has gotten itself into. Staying in the European Union’s customs union after Brexit, or joining some specially tailored version of it, would leave the UK with a ...

Academic macroeconomists almost never try to make forecasts about the macroeconomy. That probably sounds almost unbelievable to most people, but it’s true — look at any macro paper in a mainstream economic journal, and there’s only a very small chance that it will be about forecasting. There are one or two economists out there who are deeply interested in the ...

A year after the world economy’s synchronized boomlet was recognized, it’s time to consider what the next chapter will be in the global economic story. To many people, it feels like the good times just got going, with all the major players pulling in unison. After years of moderate, patchwork expansion from the great recession, 2017 saw just about all ...

In the decades after the Civil War, federal taxes and spending in the US were about one-sixth or one-seventh as high as they are now as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP). But that doesn’t really mean government was only one-sixth or one-seventh as big as it is now. For one thing, the US government gave away hundreds of ...

Bloomberg European Central Bank President Mario Draghi stepped up his call for a euro-area fund to make sure countries don’t drift apart in future crises. “We need an additional fiscal instrument to maintain convergence during large shocks, without having to overburden monetary policy,” he said at a European Union event in Florence, Italy. “Its aim would be to provide an ...

Bloomberg Several Mexican banks experienced large cash withdrawals in recent weeks after possible cyber attackers infiltrated some financial institutions, triggering unauthorised money transfers, the central bank said in an interview with Bloomberg. Banco de Mexico has zeroed in on five financial institutions whose external connection to the central bank’s electronic payment system was compromised, Lorenza Martinez, the central bank’s head ...

Bloomberg A legal battle is heating up over scraps of a synthetic securitisation structured before the global financial crisis, highlighting risks in derivatives trades that are proliferating again. Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley are fighting over 36 million euros ($43 million) that wasn’t repaid to junior noteholders. The deal matured in December 2016 and was designed to provide credit ...

Bloomberg Unprecedented growth restrictions imposed on Wells Fargo & Co. will stay in place until the Federal Reserve’s board agrees that the bank has made enough progress in fixing flaws that led to customer-abuse scandals over the past two years, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren. In a letter to Warren dated May 10, ...

Bloomberg Luxembourg’s citizens can quickly impress with their language skills, switching with ease between their local tongue and German, French and English. But insurers, investment firms and banks hoping to open post-Brexit outposts in one of the European Union’s most important financial hubs may be in for a surprise. Head hunters say there simply aren’t enough candidates in and around ...

Bloomberg The sun never sets on Walmart Inc.’s empire, thanks to its network of stores across five continents. But in the span of 10 days, chief executive Doug McMillon has begun dramatically redrawing the retailer’s map, and there’s likely more to come as it places bets to remain on top. “All of a sudden, everything is in play,” said Dave ...