Those of us who have always thought that Brexit — Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union — was a bad idea should be feeling self-satisfied and vindicated now. Well, we’re not; at least this observer isn’t. The reason is obvious. Many of the things that we feared would happen have happened, or might still. Worse, the consequences aren’t confined to ...

Italy’s populist rulers are famous for their contradictory positions. They’re against bailing out banks, but also oppose bailing in investors. They want to cut taxes, increase spending, but also want to keep public debt in check. They are in favour of infrastructure projects, but cannot make up their mind on whether a high-speed train link to France should go ahead. ...

The dirty money scandal engulfing Europe’s post-crisis banking champions is leading to a lot of finger-pointing inside the bloc. The EU’s bank supervisors are investigating possible regulatory failures at the national level, but national supervisors are pushing back. The latest evidence of local muscle-flexing comes from the Italian central bank, which has asked ING Groep NV to stop taking on ...