The Trump administration may have declared it over, but a new War on Poverty is coming anyways. It will be fought largely over the “work requirement” — should the government require welfare recipients either to get a job or to train for one? It’s a philosophical as much as a practical question. A work requirement addresses a dilemma of all ...

Morgan Stanley is, all of a sudden, Wall Street’s big spender. The Wall Street firm reported second-quarter earnings that were broadly better than expected. Most notable was Morgan Stanley’s fixed-income and commodities trading, which beat expectations. Rival Goldman Sachs Group Inc missed in that unit, where it had once dominated Morgan Stanley, but the fortunes of the two firms have ...

The interest-rate futures market is convinced the Bank of England will raise borrowing costs next month. But three consecutive sets of disappointing economic statistics this week should restrain the hawks on the Monetary Policy Committee from turning the present political and economic drama into a crisis. The pound lurched lower, dropping below $1.30, after disappointing retail sales figures. The combination ...