If the UK parliament can’t clean up the Brexit mess, it might be time for Europe to start spending instead. The economic impact of a worst-case no-deal Brexit on the rest of the European Union is estimated to amount to $250 billion by 2030, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Back in 2017, Ireland suggested that was a good ...

Days after a mass shooting at one of Walmart Inc.’s stores in El Paso last month, the nation’s largest retailer offered a cautious and decorous response. CEO Doug McMillon offered prayers for the families of those affected and pledged the company would be “thoughtful” about how it responded. Now, a month later, the CEO’s thoughts have morphed into company policy ...

As the 1970s came to a close, I sensed that double-digit rates of inflation were about to turn to disinflation, or smaller and smaller overall price increases. Given the close correlation between inflation and yields on US Treasury securities, I forecast in 1981 a dramatic decline in the 30-year yield from what was then 14.7% to 3% and stated, “We’re ...