For nearly a decade Germany has faced calls from across the euro zone to loosen its fiscal belt. Now that Berlin has finally hinted it might spend more to combat the risk of recession, the rest of Europe has some cause to celebrate. But any jubilation should be tempered. Finance minister Olaf Scholz has said that Germany can spend up ...

Sotheby’s is under fire for accepting a $2.7 billion takeover bid from billionaire art lover Patrick Drahi. The handling of the sale reflects poorly on the board, even if it led to a generous offer relative to where the stock was trading. The venerable auctioneer received a takeover approach from a group of unidentified private equity investors in December. Others, ...

Donald Trump was unable to say whether he supported the single most viable idea for forestalling a recession: a payroll tax cut. It’s not a hard question — and by promising to make the cut temporary, he could increase the chances of it actually happening. The worsening US economic outlook has sparked a blame game in Washington. Trump blames the ...