Opinion

  In less than two weeks, Italians will vote in a referendum on whether to change the nation’s constitution. Polls consistently suggest the government will lose the vote; even former Prime Minister Mario Monti told Bloomberg Television he’s voting “no.” And the bond market is signaling that there may be more at stake than just Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s job. ...

  If you’re not good at something, the smart thing to do is go find a professional. If you’re sick and don’t know what you have, you go to a doctor. If the wiring in your house has a short circuit, you call an electrician. But does this approach work in investing? Probably not. Doctors and electricians have to prove ...

    Justin Fox The vast majority of Americans will be sitting down to a gigantic, mostly home-cooked meal this Thursday. So this seems like as good a time as any to point out that such meals have become an anomaly. Basic ingredients — such as, you know, turkeys, cranberries and sweet potatoes —now account for only 5 percent of ...

  The U.S. may have gone too far in pushing the European banking industry to play by American rules. Justified or not, these efforts are causing a protectionist pushback that probably won’t do global finance any good. European banks have been losing market share to U.S. ones, especially in investment banking, for years. Today, U.S. financial institutions are responsible for ...

  Financial markets have been surging the past two weeks, anticipating the potential for more stimulative economic policy after the spate of recent anti-establishment political surprises. Central bankers on both side of the Atlantic, while more restrained, also are preparing for measures that might produce both higher growth and faster inflation. Following his election as U.S. president, Donald Trump and ...

  China is America’s largest trading partner, and the U.S. is the largest partner for China. And while it’s true that our two countries have differences, we know that when we work together, we can accomplish extraordinary things. Cooperation between the U.S. and China, after all, is what made the Paris climate agreement possible. In the wake of the presidential ...

  On Wednesday, Britain’s finance minister Philip Hammond cut UK’s economic growth forecast for next year from 2.2% to 1.4%. The announcement came exactly five months after the June 23 referendum and rattled businesses in London. The UK economy has been in a tailspin as there continues to be ambiguity over the Brexit process. Even though British Prime Minister Theresa ...

  Here’s a suggestion for what should be among President Donald Trump’s priorities in Asia: Negotiate a free-trade agreement with China. You may think I’ve lost my mind. Hasn’t trade with China cost jobs and weakened U.S. industry, as Trump relentlessly argued during his campaign? Wouldn’t a free-trade pact only make matters worse? And isn’t the U.S. trade deficit with ...

  Financial markets have been optimistic since the election of Donald J. Trump in the U.S., in part because investors assume that the incoming administration will pass some sort of business-friendly tax reform. But some of those reforms could hit investors in unexpected ways. One plank of Trump’s business-friendly tax reform, which Hillary Clinton proposed as well, entails giving multinational ...

  Jean-Michel Paul When they were opposition figures, populists could content themselves with provocative slogans. Once in office they must produce concrete policies. The challenge for them — and for those incumbents trying to hold onto office — is to preserve the real gains of globalization while addressing the concerns of the new radical majority. Here are some policy directions ...