Innovation, everybody hopes, will rescue the world from economic stagnation. I’m not so sure. The extent to which an innovation is significant depends on the degree to which it alters existing activity or the performance of a function. It must create related and ancillary activities that in turn lead to employment, wealth and other discoveries in a virtuous cycle. It …

Bloomberg Global stocks were mixed and the dollar edged lower amid thin trading as investors weighed the latest comments from a Fed official on the path of borrowing costs. The British pound advanced after a selloff. With markets in the UK, US and China all closed for public holidays, volumes were depressed across the board and most moves were muted. …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia’s net foreign assets dropped below $500 billion in April for the first time since 2011 even after the kingdom raised $9 billion from its first international sale of Islamic bonds. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, as the central bank is known, said its net foreign assets fell by $8.5 billion from the previous month to about $493 …