Over the past eight years, the major central banks have increased their balance sheets to $18 trillion from $6 trillion, predominantly through the purchase of their own government’s bonds. While the Fed has ended its QE program, the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan continue theirs. But those too will eventually come to an end. What happens next …

  Events have lately been mounting an impressive case against referendums. Britain voted to leave the European Union. Colombia rejected a deal to end its decades-long conflict with FARC revolutionaries. Hungary just said no to (modest) European Union quotas for the resettlement of refugees. Poor choices all. These recent cases aren’t anomalies. They’re consistent with a history of bungled decisions …

  The news that the UAE will have a sharia-compliant trade bank soon has given a big boost to the Islamic economy. Earlier, the launch of ‘My Salaam’ portal and mobile app — an innovative step — manifested the keeness of the country to consolidate the Islamic ecosystem. The launch of Awqaf International Organization is also an initiative that will …