The Federal Reserve will almost certainly take steps to start reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year. The central bankers made that clear in the minutes from their meeting. At first blush, this seems as if it would be bad for longer-term debt, which is yielding much less than it has historically in large part because of the ...

The effects of this month’s global ransomware attack seem to be fading, fortunately. But a crucial question the incident raised is only getting more urgent. When it comes to online security, the U.S. government’s priorities — preventing terrorism and protecting cyberspace — are in permanent tension. Is there a way to resolve it? The National Security Agency (NSA) routinely seeks out ...

Germany wants good relations with both Russia and the English-speaking world, but it can’t really trust either, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Such admissions don’t advance her re-election campaign as some claim, but her aim is much broader than that anyhow. Merkel’s remarks that “the time when we could fully rely on others is pretty much gone” and that ...

Investors with a macro view of the global economy will undoubtedly take into account population growth. Even though the pace of the expansion has peaked (1962-3), the overall number of people continues to grow, led by emerging markets. Estimates have put the total at 8.4 billion by mid-2030, and 9.6 billion by mid-2050. Contributing to this statistic is that people ...

For decades, Nestle SA has tried to get its infant milk powder into the hands of China’s new mothers with promises of brighter, healthier babies. Now it’s trying to do the same for the elderly. Last week, the company launched “Nestle YIYANG Fuel for brainTM senior milk powder,” a formula designed to help China’s seniors “refuel their brains and start ...

Bloomberg US stocks halted a seven-day advance as data showing a rebound in consumer spending offset a wider selloff in commodities. Treasuries advanced amid month-end buying. The S&P 500 Index edged lower from an all-time high banks paced gains while energy producers slumped amid a retreat in crude. Tech shares lifted the Nasdaq 100 Index to a fresh record. The ...

Bloomberg Hong Kong’s benchmark stock index capped a fifth month of gains, its longest winning streak in more than four years, as improving earnings outweighed concerns about China’s campaign to cut leverage. The Hang Seng Index advanced 4.3 percent in May to be among Asia’s best performers. The gauge retreated 0.2 percent on Wednesday at the close. Geely Automobile Holdings ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $41 million to settle Federal Reserve allegations that its U.S. operations failed to maintain adequate protections against money laundering, the latest in a string of fines that have cost the German lender billions of dollars. The Frankfurt-based bank’s US operations fell short in complying with the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires lenders to ...

Bloomberg Co-Operative Bank Plc, the UK lender that put itself up for sale amid a capital shortfall, is coming closer to forcing bondholders to swap debt into equity and selling shares as it runs out of options to bolster its financial strength, according to people familiar with the matter. The Manchester, England-based lender is seeking an agreement with bondholders including ...

Bloomberg The Irish government fired the starting gun for the initial public offering of Allied Irish Banks Plc, laying out a plan to sell 25 percent of the nationalized lender. The government plans to sell the AIB stake in a share offering in London and Dublin, with terms to be set in mid-June, the country’s finance ministry said in an ...