President Donald Trump’s decision to delay new tariffs on Chinese imports is good news. There’s no guarantee he’s about to strike a sensible agreement on trade with Beijing, but the suspension of hostilities is welcome. Trump’s approach up to now has become all too familiar. Ratchet up tensions with incendiary rhetoric; impose unilateral sanctions; engage in talks ending in incremental ...

Whether or not you believe the Russian economy grew 2.3 percent last year, beating the most optimistic expectations, the Russian Economy Ministry doesn’t want anyone to expect a repeat in 2019. That doesn’t mean there will be no baffling statistical anomalies this year, only that, realistically, there’s no reason for a rapid economic expansion. Russia’s official statistical agency, Rosstat, where ...

The world’s gold miners have spent years avoiding each others’ gazes like nervous teenagers. Now all of a sudden they’re acting like the thrill has gone. It hasn’t even been two months since Barrick Gold Corp. and Randgold Resources Ltd. announced that their merger was “consummated,” and already Executive Chairman John Thornton appears to be checking out an old flame. ...