Byung-Yeon Kim, a professor at Seoul National University, began interviewing North Korean defectors seven years ago to learn more about their country’s economy. One wouldn’t have thought there was much to discover: Often described as “Stalinist,” the hermetic regime to the north seemed to preside over a crude, centrally planned system, with peasants toiling away for a pittance in collective ...

Bloomberg US stocks added to records, the dollar halted a two-day drop and Treasuries slipped as investors remained bullish on the American economy ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting. Gold fell as demand for havens faded. The S&P 500 Index held above 2,500, the Stoxx Europe 600 jumped the most in almost a week and equities increased from Australia ...

Reuters Qatar’s stock index hit a five-year low on Monday because of a fresh sign that a diplomatic dispute in the region was starting to inflict long-term damage on some of its companies. Shares of Qatar Insurance dropped 2.3 percent after the company said it was closing its Abu Dhabi branch because it had not been able to obtain a ...