Opinion

Where in the world can you get more than 11 percent from bonds since June and 41 percent from bank stocks this year, with inflation evaporating as the gross domestic product and currency strengthen? That would be Argentina, a financial integrity scofflaw for most of the past century, now bringing a bonanza to global investors. Since he was elected president …

If there’s a symbol of the breadth of the euro zone’s recovery, it’s Portugal. In 2011, it had to accept an international bailout on punishing terms. Today, three years after graduating from that program, growth and confidence have returned. As if to mark the achievement, S&P Global Ratings just raised Portugal’s sovereign rating to investment grade. This success is real—but …

Last week, the Commercial Aviation Corp. of China Ltd. (Comac) announced that the C919, China’s first homemade large passenger jet, had chalked up its 730th pre-order. Those numbers won’t necessarily make the Boeing Co. or Airbus SE quake; Boeing estimates Chinese airlines alone will require 5,420 new single-aisle planes by 2036. Ultimately, though, they could herald the end of global …

As Congress factors in Senator John McCain’s refusal to back, for now, the latest scrupulously unvetted legislation to scramble the American health-care system, the gamey smell of states’ rights still lingers in the air. “Instead of a Washington-knows-best approach like Obamacare, our legislation empowers those closest to the health-care needs of their communities to provide solutions,” said Republican Senator Lindsey …

The sour faces of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s allies after the first exit poll results for the federal election were announced on Sunday night will prompt much talk of a Pyrrhic victory for Merkel. But the outcome of Sunday’s election could be good both for her and for German democracy: It has clarified the options for the next governing coalition, …

It was an epoch-defining decision to place in Westminster Abbey, among statues of monarchs, priests and poets, a large one of James Watt, inventor of the separate-condenser steam engine. The statue’s inscription says Watt ranks among the world’s benefactors because he “increased the power of man.” The economist and historian Deirdre McCloskey believes this honor, conferred in 1834, signified society’s …

The Indian stock market seems unstoppable. Its major indices have risen over 20 percent this year, making it one of Asia’s best performers. Indian investors have piled into more than $7.2 billion worth of stock in 2017 and foreigners have bought almost $7 billion. Yet corporate earnings have hardly recovered enough to justify such exuberance. The quarter between April and …

Under the lax ethical standards President Donald Trump brought to the White House, rampant conflicts of interest are treated with casual indifference. This disregard has sent a message to his entire administration that blurring lines—between public and private, right and wrong—will be not just tolerated but defended. At least one cabinet member appears to have taken the message to heart. …

No one knows how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will respond to growing pressure on his regime, other than by scouring the thesaurus. But the US and China seem to be stumbling toward a more effective strategy for confronting him. More boldness from the latter, and restraint from the former, will be necessary to see it through. New US …

In times of market uncertainty, some investors will flock to “safeguarded” currencies such as the Swiss franc or Japanese yen. Others may choose diversifiers like gold, farmland or other hard assets. And then there are those who flock to alternative investments like bitcoin. Yet one investment that has historically been considered a safe bet, low-risk option for investors when frothy …