Opinion

‘Back channels’ have been used by every modern president, from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama. If that’s so, what’s the problem with the pre-inauguration contacts between White House adviser Jared Kushner and two Russian intermediaries? It’s a fair question. But that doesn’t mean that the right answer is a reflexive approval of Kushner’s contacts, as offered by Homeland Security …

Balance-sheet turbulence at large Indian companies is nothing new. The $180 billion of stressed assets in the banking system are mainly due to about 60 big corporate accounts. Yet two things make this week’s meltdown in the shares and debentures of Reliance Communications Ltd an unusual cautionary tale. Banks and bondholders are sitting on a combined $7 billion exposure to …

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s election campaign has run into a spot of bother. Less than a month ago the Tories were leading Labour by more than 20 percentage points and heading, it seemed, for a landslide victory on June 8. One recent poll has cut that lead to just five points. The setback is May’s fault — and, oddly …

If Donald Trump and Barack Obama agree on something, does that mean it’s true? In the case of Europe’s woeful support of its collective defense, yes: Member states need to contribute their “fair share” toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a phrase both men used in speeches in European capitals. The question is what “fair share” means. Instead of measuring …

Economists, to put it mildly, are not known for their communication skills. The typical economics paper is written in a formal, stilted style, laden with phrases like ‘in the following subsection’ and ‘it has been shown that.’ Jargon flies thick and fast, interspersed with highly formalized mathematical definitions and propositions. For a non-economist to hack through the verbal jungle of …

Why so surprised, bank investors? Shares of two of the largest US lenders, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., tumbled recently to their lowest levels in at least four months after executives said second-quarter trading revenue is poised to fall at least 10 percent from the same period a year ago. Rival Wall Street banks with large …

The laptop ban is coming. Can anyone doubt it? The latest signal came on Fox News Sunday, when Chris Wallace interviewed President Donald Trump’s secretary of homeland security, John Kelly. “Are you going to ban laptops in the cabins on all international flights into and out of the US?” Wallace asked. “I might,” Kelly replied, flashing the small, satisfied smile …

I am not a big or even a little fan of President Donald Trump. Many of his policies strike me as undesirable, some in the extreme. His background and temperament have not prepared him for the presidency. He is largely ignorant of many issues he must face. And yet, for all this, the idea of impeaching him and removing him …

Tidjane Thiam got away with a fine of half a million dollars, or just 0.009 percent of what he paid the Americans late last year. Yet the Credit Suisse Group AG CEO won’t be fooled by Singapore’s apparent leniency. Tuesday’s gentle rap concludes a two-year investigation by the city-state into banks that, knowingly or otherwise, helped facilitate an elaborate scheme …

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 …