When big Midwestern states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio voted for Donald Trump, they chose to roll the economic dice. It’s not clear yet whether President-elect Trump will or can follow through on his promises to revamp US trade policy. It’s even more dubious whether that will have any kind of positive effect on the Midwest. But it’s …

  Beyond cars, Japanese companies haven’t made much headway in China. The nation’s top fast-food chain is KFC, most consumer goodsare from Procter & Gamble Co., and even though cars made by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. sell well when political frictions thaw, mainlanders’ vehicle of choice is generally a Volkswagen. But there is one exception: convenience stores. …

  If Richard Nixon could go to China, can Rex Tillerson save Paris? It is but one of many questions, some more answerable than others, about President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of state. Unlike the president-elect, Tillerson, the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corp., supports both the global climate-change accord forged in Paris last year and a carbon …