“To the barricades.” That’s one way of characterising Bill Dudley’s recent proposal that the Federal Reserve fight back against President Trump’s unrelenting attacks. Although it’s a phenomenally bad idea, it has the curious and paradoxical effect of revealing the primary defects of Trump’s economic policies. First, some background. Dudley — a former chief US economist for Goldman Sachs — was ...

Giuseppe Conte looks set to form a new government in Italy, after activists from the Five Star Movement backed an alliance with the Democratic Party. The speedy resolution of Italy’s political crisis offers a striking contrast with the enduring chaos in Britain. But the basis of the new coalition, including the program and the likely ministerial team, appear extremely shaky ...

How often does it happen that a public pension fund chooses someone to manage its money — and then sticks with that person for 43 years? Only one streak I know of has lasted this long. The Atlanta-based investment counseling firm Bowen, Hanes and Company Inc., run by Jay Bowen, has received national acclaim for its long tenure overseeing the ...