Let’s hope US policy makers have woken up to the fact that the country is in a period of sclerosis, where its economic institutions seem to be inefficient along a variety of fronts. When things aren’t working, one good idea is to look around and see which countries are doing better. Right now, Japan is one such country. But …

  There’s an expanding bad-debt crisis in India. There’s also a related spectacle surrounding the owner of a failed airline with $1.4 billion in unpaid loans. No prizes for guessing which makes for healthier television ratings. Neither the Indian government nor the main opposition party lost much time in taking credit after Vijay Mallya, a business tycoon and founder of …

  Amazon and Wal-Mart might once have existed in parallel universes, but these days they’re in a price war. Both giants are now seeking to make acquisitions to compete on the other’s turf. Amazon.com Inc. is going to have a significant brick-and-mortar presence. The only remaining question is when and how. Perhaps it’ll be a new high-tech store created by …