Opinion

There’s a booming market in conspiracy theories about the origins of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. But the Chinese government has no one to blame but itself for this explosive debate. They have put the truth on lockdown. China has an obligation here: For its own sake and the world’s, it should promptly begin a serious, credible investigation into ...

Almost 6% of mortgage loans are in forbearance, meaning about 3 million homeowners have delayed payments, according to data released this week by the mortgage bankers’ trade group. That’s a 60% jump from the prior week, and industry observers estimate that the number of loans in forbearance could eventually climb to as high as 15%. So who’s postponing their mortgage ...

If America is going to restart its economy, at whatever pace, it needs to think about a major roadblock: liability from Covid-19. If a university or workplace reopens, and some employees or students get sick, should they have the right to sue? In the absence of clarity on this question, many risk-averse institutions will simply wait, as their lawyers will ...

The anti-politics Five Star Movement may be part of Italy’s ruling coalition. But recent nominations to the boards of Italy’s state-backed companies look as pro-politics as ever. Oil major Eni SpA, utility Enel SpA and defense group Leonardo SpA are among those that get a boardroom review every three years. The quixotic hope is that appointments are made via a ...

The April 7 election in Wisconsin was a moral, legal, administrative and public-health fiasco. It is also a model that Republicans intend to duplicate in November. After Republican legislators and Republican judges forced Wisconsin to proceed with in-person voting over the objections of the Democratic governor, many voters had to choose between protecting their right to vote and protecting their ...

Call it teething problems, disorganisation or plain Luddism: the first few weeks of working from home were, for many, far from smooth. Set aside for a second the impact of hunkering down with children, paramours and housemates. The coronavirus lockdowns revealed a deep division even between white-collar workers: those employed by companies that have invested in what it takes for ...

“Papa, papa, Look! The playground is open again,” exclaimed a young girl as she gazed longingly at a group of her peers vying to be the next on the swings. The sight of Berlin children playing happily together once again was both life-affirming and terrifying. Kids aren’t the best at social distancing and we still aren’t sure how big a ...

Among the many political shortcomings that the pandemic has laid bare is that the US suffers from constitutional and statutory gaps that make its democracy, and even its basic governing ability, vulnerable in an emergency. The good news? The hard thinking about this problem has mostly already been done. The bad news? No one who can do anything about it ...

When a congressional back-bencher with fringe right-wing ideas took office last year, many Brazilians held their breath. Some hoped and prayed that Jair Bolsonaro might rise to the occasion, moderate his rhetoric and compensate for his lack of executive experience by delegating to a first-rate cabinet. Leave it to the adults in the room — Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, Vice ...

The economic contraction wrought by efforts to contain the coronavirus is shredding inflation. Now deflation, a prolonged period of falling prices, is stalking the globe. The collapsing oil market is both a symptom of weaker demand and cause for a deepening slump. Huge levels of stimulus are likely to be required long after the pandemic subsides. Yet concerns about prices ...