Opinion

  North Korea’s unbridled move to develop nuclear weapons capable of striking the US and its allies in the region is pushing the Korean peninsula towards its most severe crisis in years. According to an estimate North Korean regime possesses between 10 and 25 nuclear weapons and launch vehicles together with ballistic missiles that could strike South Korea and Japan, …

  Having long been considered one of the most stable democracies in the world, Britain will hold a new general election on June 8 — barely two years after the last. However, with the Conservative Party on course for securing a comfortable majority, political uncertainty may not be the biggest risk facing the UK. A weakening economy could well pose …

  The traffic jams were worse than normal in Paris on Tuesday morning, and Uber Technologies Inc. was to blame. No, it wasn’t because too many of its black sedans were on the road, nor even that French taxi drivers were protesting again about the American interloper. Rather, it was a result of the fear the ride-hailing app casts over …

  Three important messages for the global economy emerged from the latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ released by the International Monetary Fund this week: The baseline for economic growth is essentially the same over the medium term, with slightly better shorter-term prospects; the risks are getting bigger and are tilted to the downside; and better national policy making and improved cross-border …

  The only modern president who rivaled Donald Trump in his lack of preparation for global leadership was Harry Truman. Both men took office with little knowledge of the international problems they were about to face, and with worries at home and abroad that they weren’t up to the job. “I pray god I can measure up to the task,” …

  A lot of companies view revolving credit lines the way some rock climbers view harnesses and ropes: They would rather not use them, but they’re glad to have them when trouble strikes. So it’s worth paying attention when a corporation starts withdrawing a substantial amount of money under these prearranged agreements with banks. This can signal a significant problem. …

  Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been trying hard to combat his nation’s alarming demographic decline: promoting robots and other productivity-enhancing technology, bringing more women into the workforce, even opening the door a bit wider to foreigners. It’s plain, however, that he needs to try harder still, especially when it comes to immigration. Japanese companies already report they can’t …

  British Prime Minster Theresa May shocked the UK by calling a general election for June 8. She said the election would strengthen the government’s hand in negotiations to leave the European Union. She dismissed criticism of her move to send voters back to polling booths for the third time in two years, after a May 2015 national election and …

  Let’s hope US policy makers have woken up to the fact that the country is in a period of sclerosis, where its economic institutions seem to be inefficient along a variety of fronts. When things aren’t working, one good idea is to look around and see which countries are doing better. Right now, Japan is one such country. But …

  There’s an expanding bad-debt crisis in India. There’s also a related spectacle surrounding the owner of a failed airline with $1.4 billion in unpaid loans. No prizes for guessing which makes for healthier television ratings. Neither the Indian government nor the main opposition party lost much time in taking credit after Vijay Mallya, a business tycoon and founder of …