Soon after Equifax Inc. disclosed in early September that a data breach had exposed the private financial information of 145 million Americans, some advocated that the credit-reporting agency be shut down. At the very least, many thought, it would suffer some financial repercussions. Instead, Equifax reported its second-best quarter ever based on sales and its preferred measure of profits. In …

In a surprise announcement, the Chinese Ministry of Finance declared that it will henceforth allow foreigners to own Chinese banks outright and gain majority stakes in insurance and securities firms. While dramatic, this isn’t China’s first effort to open up its economy to outside expertise and competition. If they want this one to succeed, officials will need to do more …

The headline number is impressive: A quarter-trillion dollars worth of deals from China that President Donald Trump can use to show he’s creating opportunities for US businesses and jobs for his base. The reality, however, is that the roughly 15 agreements unveiled on Thursday are mostly non-binding memorandums of understanding and could take years to materialize—if they do at all. …