The upcoming Federal Reserve meeting will be the first since last month’s shock vote in Britain to leave the European Union. It is expected to hold rates even as traders hope for guidance on policy plans. The uncertainty is a blessing in disguise as pledges are being made around the world to provide support to financial markets. The impact …

  Mark Whitehouse Later this week, European regulators will report on stress tests designed to determine whether the region’s banking system could withstand a crisis. Judging from a separate indicator of financial strength, the truth is probably more than they can handle. The tests will focus on 51 banks in the European Union and Norway, subjecting them to an adverse …

  A worrying trend is developing in the corporate bond market: Even with borrowing costs at or near their lowest ever, companies are increasingly unable to pay their debts. There have already been enough defaults around the world this year to suggest that the record set in 2009 might be beaten. And that should ring alarm bells for traders and …