Bloomberg A leading Brexit minister in Theresa May’s government was forced into a painful political admission — the UK is legally bound to settle its divorce bill even if it doesn’t get a future trade deal with the EU. To make the bitter pill of 39 billion pounds ($52 billion) easier to swallow for the public and Brexit cheerleaders, May ...

China, not the US, is the world’s largest economy. Though the US still tops when measured at market-exchange rates, China is about 20 percent larger after adjusting for the lower cost of goods and services there. The latter metric is what really counts, both in terms of standards of living and, probably, in terms of military purchasing power. With four ...

“Whatever it takes.” Those three symbolic words were uttered by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in July 2012, and European bonds have benefited hugely from the “Draghi put” ever since. Italy has revived existential questions about the bloc. The latest twist in this drama looks to be the agreement between Five Star and the League on a prime minister, ...