History is what we make of it — and sometimes we make a real hash. I take as my text for the sermon that follows an op-ed essay in The New York Times this week by Times’ columnist David Leonhardt. The headline tells it all: ‘Democrats, the Real Fiscal Conservatives.’ Are you kidding? It is certainly true, as Leonhardt argues, ...

Anyone who doubts China could produce the next Roche Holding AG or Pfizer Inc. need only look at the country’s cancer figures: More than 4 million new patients or close to 12,000 per day diagnosed in 2015, the latest public data available. Global investors have settled on a favored contender in Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Co., whose Shanghai-traded shares have surged ...

Wells Fargo & Co.’s $1 billion settlement with regulators already has some saying that this marks the end of a troubled period for the scandal-plagued bank. That might be wishful thinking. Part of the reason for the optimism is the size of the fine. Wells Fargo paid only $185 million for its fake-account scandal, which impacted as many as 3.5 ...