Bob Gates has worked in senior national-security positions for the last five presidents, Republican and Democratic. So it’s noteworthy — and to me, encouraging — that he is advising President-elect Donald Trump, too. Gates, a former defense secretary, CIA director and deputy national security adviser, spoke with me by telephone on Wednesday about the advice he’s giving Trump and …

  Few Italian operas come as epic as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA. Thanks to an ill-timed and hubristic takeover as well as some questionable accounting practices, the 544-year-old pillar of Siena is on the brink of an ignominious nationalization. The final act, though, will drag on. One Italian official presented the outline of Monte Paschi’s rescue to …

  The imminent failure of Italy’s third-largest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is finally bringing the country’s long-festering banking crisis to the center of European leaders’ attention. This may be a blessing in disguise, offering the best chance yet to achieve a lasting solution — and even strengthen the European Union. Italy’s financial woes have been years in the …