Opinion

  Discussions of a possible U.K. exit from the European Union often center on how the move would affect the U.K. itself. It’s only natural, since British voters are the ones who will make the decision, and they care mainly about their own country. There are two sides to any divorce, however, and the relatively passive partner — in this ...

  Why has a promising idea put forth by South Korean President Park Geun-hye – a five-party (U.S., China, ROK, Japan, Russia) diplomatic process for Northeast Asia – received so little regional support? After what appears an inflection point in the region (North Korea’s back-to-back nuclear and ICBM missile tests kicking off 2016) all seem to recognize the new level ...

The Obama administration has a new economic worry: competition or, allegedly, the lack of it. America’s businesses, the indictment goes, merge too often, innovate too little and bilk consumers too much. The open question is whether this argument is shrewd politics, shrewd economics — or both. No doubt, the politics are enticing. In this election season, criticizing big, impersonal firms ...

  Revelations of global auto-emissions cheating demonstrate how difficult it would be to rein in global warming. Embarrassingly, the cheating reports continued to stream in, while the world leaders were gathering in New York on Friday to sign the landmark Paris Climate Accord. It is but a paradox that such scandals come from major auto companies in the developed countries ...

  Edward Niedermeyer After a 17-year-old Texas woman became the 10th American killed by exploding Takata airbags last month, it was revealed that while the vehicle had been recalled, it had never been taken in for repair. This is tragic but not surprising: Only about a third of the nearly 29 million recalled Takata airbags have actually been replaced. This ...

  China’s critics are united on one point: The country’s central problem is that it’s moving too slowly to embrace free markets. For now, however, the bigger risk lies in moving too fast. It’s important to remember how China reached this point. For any big economy, coordination poses a steep challenge. The problem is particularly acute at early stages of ...

  Indonesia is arguably the least well-known big country in the world, punching far below its weight when it comes to foreign affairs. Now comes a golden opportunity to change that – a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) due next year, or in 2018. The timing could not be more apt, coming right as the country has ...

  There is an excellent reason for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to want a good relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The European Union’s March deal with Turkey appears to have defused the refugee crisis for now. Merkel can now concentrate on political damage control and on restoring her position in the EU, undermined by a costly flutter of ...

  “One fine day, in a fit of euphoria, after he had picked up the telephone and taken an order for zero-coupon bonds that had brought him a $50,000 commission, just like that, this very phrase had bubbled up into his brain. On Wall Street he and a few others — how many? — three hundred, four hundred, five hundred? ...

  US President Barack Obama’s last presidential visit to the UK will be in the eye of storm as he plans to make a strong case against Brexit amid criticism from supporters of the ‘leave EU’ campaign. His visit comes ahead of the June 23 referendum when Britons will be asked if they want to remain in the 28-member EU. ...