Opinion

It’s easier for American tourists to travel to North Korea than to Cuba. It’s also more dangerous, as the death this week of college student Otto Warmbier after 17 months of North Korean captivity shows. But never mind the absurdity of President Donald Trump’s reimposition of travel restrictions to a relatively open and safe island 90 miles off the American …

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has now formally enlisted in the fight against IS extremists. It can begin by helping to stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe from North Africa. This would be more than a humanitarian exercise; it would be a counterterrorism operation. Wherever refugees gather in hopelessness, violent extremists have a fertile recruiting ground. …

In environmentalist circles, there’s a common trope that for humanity to prevent catastrophic climate change, economic growth must stop. This idea has helped to turn what should be a hard-headed, rational debate into a partisan political one — many on the right suspect that climate-change activism is a thin veneer for a socialist plot to throttle the economies of the …

The Italian government looks set to put Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza, two troubled regional lenders, into liquidation, selling off the good assets to a rival bank for a symbolic price. The toxic assets would be transferred to a bad bank, mostly funded by the government. Shareholders and junior bond-holders would contribute to the rescue, while senior creditors …

Apple Inc. has long proved adept at negotiating China’s notoriously challenging market, responding to fickle consumer tastes and unpredictable regulation far more adeptly than its competitors. But a recent decision to start taking a 30 percent commission on “tips” paid to artists and entertainers online threatens to undermine that savvy reputation — and quite possibly Apple’s long-term prospects in China. …

Among the many things it does, the federal government is one of the nation’s largest lenders. It lends to farmers, homeowners, students, small businesses, exporters and rural electric utilities, among others. Altogether, there are more than 100 loan programs administered by 20 agencies overseeing lending worth $3.4 trillion in fiscal 2015, up from $1.5 trillion in 2007. These fascinating figures …

Britain has long stood accused of being run by a small clique of privately educated aristocrats. At least in one sphere the accusation is unfair: Few countries are so open-minded when it comes to appointing the men and women who take some of the most crucial decisions for the future of the economy. The Bank of England’s rate-setting monetary policy …

The deal struck last week between Greece and its euro-zone creditors is business as usual — and that’s not a good thing. This protracted game of “extend and pretend” serves nobody’s long-term interests: not those of the Greek government, the International Monetary Fund or, most of all, the people of Greece. Euro-zone finance ministers have unlocked a payment of 8.5 …

When the US government announced a ban on carry-on laptops and other gadgets for certain flight routes in March, the policy made little sense. In the months since, it has only grown more bewildering. At the moment, the ban applies to large electronic devices on flights originating at 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa. It may be …

In 1859, when Manhattan still had many farms, near the Battery on the island’s southern tip The Great American Tea Company was launched. It grew, and outgrew its name, becoming in 1870 The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, (A&P) which in 1912 begat the first A&P Economy Store, a semi-modern grocery store. By 1920, there were 4,500 such stores; …