Opinion

  Narayana Kocherlakota A wave of popular dissatisfaction, expressed in support for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, has shocked both of America’s leading political parties. The protest vote, however, shouldn’t come as a surprise: For many important demographic groups, the last two presidencies have been an economic disaster. Let’s start with white Americans. If you’re wondering why Trump’s anti-establishment rhetoric ...

  Paul Ferraro Water, we are repeatedly told, will be “next oil.” In the U.S., climate projections predict increasing drought frequency throughout most of the country. Around the world, political and even military conflicts due to water scarcity are multiplying. Water is a limited and essential resource, and we are becoming more sensitive to the need to use it wisely. ...

  The hostility towards Wall Street remains so great that both political parties say, in their platforms, that they’d like to break up America’s biggest banks. But before engaging in this drastic economic surgery, it’s worth examining whether Dodd-Frank is working. Recall that the law, named after its congressional sponsors, former Sen. Senator Christopher Dodd and former Rep. Barney Frank, ...

  In the latest effort to prop up economy and spur growth, Japan’s cabinet on Tuesday approved a massive 28-trillion yen stimulus package, including cash to improve infrastructure and raise the birth rate in the ageing nation. Undoubtedly, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has deployed many strategies to goad the economy to grow. He somehow convinced the country’s central bank to ...

  Lionel Laurent Italy has a well-known problem: A stack of bad loans on the books of its banks and nobody willing to buy them at current prices. Until investors get more reassurance on what these loans are truly worth, Italian banks won’t emerge from their crisis — and will suffer more losses in future. The plan to rescue Banca ...

  Helicopter money is back in the headlines amid speculation that Japan may turn in desperation to the final chapter of the handbook of unconventional monetary policy. But there’s an alternative to handing consumers a one-time payment in the hopes they’ll spend it: Give them a permanent wage hike instead. Milton Friedman’s thought experiment about whirlybirds dropping cash from the ...

  A U.S. federal judge has given a preliminary green light to Volkswagen’s $14.7 billion settlement for cheating on emission tests. This means U.S. owners of VWs fitted with “defeat devices” will get about twice the market value of their cars in a buyback, and the 482,000 vehicles themselves will probably be scrapped. Meanwhile, in Europe, the owners of 8.4 ...

  Stephen L. Carter If you’re looking for a diversion after two weeks of heavy convention viewing, I’d recommend a trip to the multiplex to see “Star Trek Beyond.” The reason isn’t just that the movie is by far the most fun of this summer’s tentpole offerings. The film is a paean to the value of diversity, and perhaps heralds ...

  For many decades, Russian intelligence agencies have used what they call “active measures” to destabilize their rivals. Now they seem to be turning those tools on the U.S. political system, though in the process they appear to have violated Rule No. 1 of the spy business: Don’t get caught. U.S. officials say they have strong evidence that Russian intelligence ...

  The recent move to exempt small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from bank guarantees has been taken to facilitate smooth functioning of this sector. It will help SMEs to do their business without any uncertainty and apprehension. The UAE’s growing SME sector has been playing a vital role in shaping its economy. Today, there are over 3,50,000 SMEs in the ...