The world is not ready for another financial crisis, but another financial crisis may be ready for the world. OK, the odds of this are long. Still, they’re not nonexistent. The history of modern financial crises is that, originating in obscure corners of the financial system, they are initially ignored because they seem innocuous — and then wham! Think Thailand ...

Political turmoil is rarely a good backdrop for Italian bonds. This time seems different. An auction of government debt showed investors had little inclination to demand higher borrowing costs to offset the risks around the prospect of a populist, anti-immigration government of the Five Star Movement and the League. This shows the strength of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) firepower. ...

Citigroup Inc., soon after the financial crisis, split itself into two banks — a good one and a bad one. Citi said it was going to sell the latter, which included a subprime loan portfolio and other businesses that had gotten it into trouble. But it never did. Eventually CEO Michael Corbat did away with the charade and recombined them. ...