For retailers, December isn’t just the holiday shopping season. It’s also holiday return season, when consumers decide to send back all the stuff that didn’t fit, work or meet expectations. It’s an expensive ritual. According to the National Retail Federation, returns account for around 8 percent of total annual retail sales. Online retailers face an even heavier burden, with returns …

Chuck Norris didn’t dial the wrong number; you answered the wrong phone. So the old joke goes about the paragon of omnipotence in the Walker, Texas Ranger television show. As the year draws to a close, it’s time to check in and see what Chuck might make of the current world of business and finance. Here goes: Chuck’s global macro …

For all the flaws of the Jones Act — the 1920 legislation requiring that all maritime commerce between US ports take place on ships owned, built and crewed by Americans — there’s no faulting its professed goal. The US needs a thriving maritime sector, for both economic and military reasons. The best way to achieve this is to lift the …