Any attempt at sweeping out a corner of India’s financial system means bringing investors face to face with creepy-crawlies. Disagreeable as the task is, it’s also necessary. More than $200 billion in bad loans tumbled out when banks were made to open their attics to the regulatory broom four years ago. That cleanup isn’t over, and already it’s the stockbrokers’ ...

The inflow of migrants from North Africa has split Europe between those who think governments should do all they can to save human lives and those who fear rescue operations mainly benefit smugglers. A new study shows such concerns could be well-grounded. Giovanni Mastrobuoni, one of Europe’s preeminent economists of crime based at the Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, worked ...

Those who fear an impending cold war between the U.S. and China need only look to the bond market to see evidence of a potential thaw. In the midst of a holiday-shortened week for American markets, China easily sold a record $6 billion of dollar-denominated bonds, accumulating $20 billion of investor orders that allowed it to tighten yield spreads for ...