At last month’s meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), I repeatedly heard the same dismal view: The global economy is in for low growth and historically low interest rates for a long time. “Low for long” isn’t even the worst of it. In the event of a new recession, governments have limited monetary and fiscal firepower ...

It’s rare for a European bank to be adding businesses nowadays, as capital constraints curtail dealmaking. The takeover of Deutsche Bank AG’s hedge fund activities by France’s BNP Paribas SA is an exception. There’s no mistaking what’s driving BNP: Absorbing a larger competitor with a chunky client base is one way to try to salvage its own ailing hedge fund ...

People shouldn’t be as worried as they are about the risk of a US recession. That said, it wouldn’t take much to trigger one, which is why the Federal Reserve should take out some insurance by providing added stimulus. Market participants see all sorts of reasons to fret about an imminent slump. Global growth is slowing, trade wars are adding ...