Banks must bear much of the blame for previous financial crises. In the next one, ordinary investors could play a more central role. Ironically, they’ll do so through vehicles created with them in mind – exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. These listed funds are passive by nature, designed to track the performance of an index of stocks, bonds, currencies or commodities ...

Tariffs wouldn’t be a good look for fashion retailers. Right now, clothing and footwear aren’t included in the list of Chinese products threatened with punitive duties by the US. But as my colleague David Fickling has noted, adding another $200 billion would probably mean consumer goods being drawn into the fray. Clothing accounts for about $35 billion of China’s annual ...

Facebook Inc. didn’t learn from the last two years of internet scandals. The company’s Instagram app announced a YouTube-like video hangout called IGTV, which I suspect is going to be a hit. Instagram has quickly become a go-to digital home base for younger people and is on its way to becoming Facebook’s next huge advertising money-minting machine. Analysts at KeyBanc ...