Here’s one New Year’s resolution that should be easy: The United States and North Korea should resume the diplomatic progress they began in 2018 towards peace and denuclearisation. It’s a measure of this year’s turbulent pace that the Singapore summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un just six months ago now seems a distant memory. The promise of ...

Donald Trump’s reported musings about whether he could fire the Federal Reserve chairman eclipsed an important signal from the central bank last week. Those who perused December’s interest-rate documents were focused on why the ‘dot plots’ projected two hikes next year and why the Fed didn’t abandon forward guidance. A stock-market swoon and press conference from Chairman Jerome Powell added ...

Global equity investors have reason to be concerned: The economic outlook is worsening, interest rates are rising and tensions in the US-China relationship could further harm growth. But all is not bleak. Japan provides a measure of certainty and promise, with a stable government, expanding economy, improving return on equity and booming tourism. Japanese stocks aren’t reflecting these positive factors. ...