General-election debates rarely cause major changes in voters’ choices. That’s what political scientists believe for the most part. Yet after the first presidential debate, on Sept. 26, Hillary Clinton moved back into a strong lead over Donald Trump. Indeed, according to the FiveThirtyEight forecasts, her chances of winning bottomed out on that very day (at 55 percent), and have …

There had been hope the U.S. jobs report for September released on Friday would show faster wage growth and a rising labor participation rate. It had both, though the data was otherwise mixed. After the disappointing drop for August, wage growth picked up to an annualized rate of 2.6 percent in September. Along with an increase in the number of …

  The world is in the grip of surging protectionism. The anti-free trade and anti-globalization sentiments are taking deep roots. Populism is swaying the masses. The odds seem to be conspiring against an already fragile economic growth. International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of “low growth trap” in the next few years. Despite warnings and calls to stop the tide of …