A German political crisis isn’t a raging, unstoppable, unpredictable forest fire: It starts with seemingly irreconcilable positions but then evolves into a tedious, detail-focused negotiation and, more often than not, a compromise. That’s the direction things appear to be taking after the election of two determined leftists as co-leaders of the Social Democratic party (SPD), the junior member of Germany’s ...

The rise of populist politicians across the rich world has led to a profound rethinking of the way developed economies work. In particular, the impact of automation on the labour market, and the disappearance of routine manufacturing jobs, has been blamed for the electoral successes of leaders such as US President Donald Trump and Italy’s Matteo Salvini. Yet there are ...

Given the proximity to the effective lower bound for interest rates, the Federal Reserve is looking to bolster its policy arsenal ahead of the next recession. Watch for the “bond traders’ nightmare” of adding yield curve control to the Fed’s toolkit to rise to the top of the list as the policy review draws closer to an end. Policy makers ...