Opinion

For 30 years, the word “sweatshop” has conjured up a very specific image: low-wage Asian workers making branded clothes in crowded, unsafe factories for consumers overseas. The power of that image has launched human rights campaigns, altered how major companies source their products and informed (often incorrectly) how politicians in rich countries shape their trade policies. Now that image is …

It’s a near-certainty that your organization’s computer system has been or will be broken into. And even if you’re security-conscious and vigilant, you may be to blame. The overwhelming majority of hacks — including the huge Sony attack of 2014, the recent intrusions into the U.S. Democratic National Committee’s network and, probably, the $81 million Bangladesh Bank heist that pointed …

  Forget the “gig economy” — at least for now. On Labour Day 2016, we are in the midst of a historic transformation of the American job market. Popular attention focuses on Uber and similar internet-based networks that unite buyers and sellers. “TaskRabbit,” for example, creates a platform for people who need something done (grocery shopping, plumbing) and those willing, …

  The North American Free Trade Agreement, Donald Trump said on Wednesday, “has been a far greater benefit to Mexico” than the U.S. Just minutes before, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, standing by Trump’s side in Mexico City, said Nafta had done both countries “a lot of good.” Trump disagrees over which country benefited the most, but he didn’t disavow …

  Barack Obama and Xi Jinping have obvious disagreements over how to handle North Korea’s illicit weapons program. China is angry about U.S. plans to deploy advanced missile defenses in South Korea to counter the threat, while Obama faces pressure to sanction Chinese banks and companies that help sustain Kim Jong Un’s nuclear ambitions. But the two presidents still have …

  After the US and China ratified the Paris climate accord, there is growing optimism that the agreement can take effect by the end of the year. It has to be signed by 55 countries responsible for 55% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. And ratification by the two economic giants — who emit 38% of the climate-harming GHSs — is …

  In recent years, digital currencies have shown considerable promise. Research by the People’s Bank of China suggests that the best way to take advantage of these innovations is for central banks to take the lead, both in supervising private digital currencies and in developing digital legal tender of their own. At the PBOC, this effort is underway. In approaching …

If you believe that government meddling in financial markets was responsible for the last recession and the lackluster recovery, you might be right. But probably not in the way you think. Imagine what would happen in a free market if everyone suddenly decided that future economic growth would be very slow. The price of safe assets such as U.S. government …

Apple’s legal defense against European Commission charges of improper tax avoidance is yet to be heard. But even based on the company’s own reporting, Apple’s claim that it has always paid all the taxes it owed is disingenuous. The recent ruling — forcing Ireland to hit the iPhone maker with 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes — throws …

  Susan Rice is the latest national security adviser to inherit the framework of Sino-American relations that was created in 1972 by Henry Kissinger: The Chinese ever since have wanted to deal directly and discreetly with the White House as they pursue a relationship that’s somewhere between cooperation and confrontation. Rice will be channeling Kissinger when she travels with President …