Opinion

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker stretched credulity when he told the European Parliament he had known nothing about Luxembourg’s sweet tax deals with large companies; he’d served as finance minister and then prime minister as the small country struck the deals. What Juncker knew aside, one might ask whether there is any other way for small nations to survive among …

When it comes to market volatility, don’t discount the influence of U.S. presidents. According to the Presidential Cycle Theory, the highest stock market returns are achieved in the third year of a new administration. Volatility, though, rises in the first year before peaking later on, as new policies work their way through markets. Since Donald Trump was elected in November, …

In 1950, the year before William F. Buckley burst into the national conversation, the literary critic Lionel Trilling revealed why the nation was ripe for Buckley’s high-spirited romp through its political and cultural controversies. Liberalism, Trilling declared, was “not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition” in mid-century America because conservatism was expressed merely in ‘irritable mental gestures.’ …

When thinking about the abstract foreign policy framework known as the ‘liberal international order,’ it helps to personalize it by remembering the career of one of its strongest exponents, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. Brzezinski, who died recently, devoted most of his career to explaining and enhancing this idea of a robust, supple, US-led architecture for global security and …

In most countries, panic buttons are devices used by elderly folk who may need emergency care, or parents who want to keep tabs on wandering children and pets. But in Mexico, they’re part of the survival toolkit for journalists covering the drug war, corruption and other man-made miseries, enabling them to send a silent distress signal to authorities. Such is …

President Donald Trump’s first appearances at the NATO and Group of Seven summits were a disservice to the US and the world. He betrayed no interest in maintaining America’s standing as the pre-eminent global leader, much less any aptitude for that task. The president is rattling the Western alliance in a way that can only delight its adversaries — Russia …

Italy’s main political parties are edging closer to agreement on a new electoral law, which could pave the way for an early election in the autumn. In theory, this ought to be good news: Italy faces formidable economic challenges; a newly-elected government would have a fresh mandate to deal with them. In practice, however, a snap election is an unnecessary …

For the first time ever, China is facing a dreaded prospect: the inverted bond yield curve. The phenomenon, in which long-term interest rates sink below short-term interest rates, has caused some consternation among market-watchers, who know it’s traditionally a harbinger of recession. The inversion suggests markets expect interest rates to fall eventually as monetary authorities move to stimulate economic activity. …

Amazon helped kill bookstore chains, and now it’s becoming one. The company has been opening physical bookstores in cities like Seattle, San Diego and Chicago since 2015. Last week, it opened its seventh bookstore in an upscale mall in New York City. In an ironic twist, Amazon’s store is one floor up from a former Borders store, the bookstore outlet …

Bitcoin has been on an unbelievable run. The cryptocurrency is up around 124 percent for 2017. And that’s after it gained 125 percent in 2016. In May alone, it’s up more than 60 percent. It’s hard to know what the long-term impact or performance will be, but one thing’s for sure — investors are swept up in cryptocurrency mania. One …