Armin-Paulus Hampel, a former journalist and commentator who now is a member of the Bundestag, is ebullient, affable, opinionated, voluble and excellent company at lunch. But because his party is Alternative for Germany (AfD), one wonders whether he is representative of it, and whether he is as congenial politically as he is socially. AfD is a Rorschach test for observers ...

Britons tucked into J. Sainsbury Plc’s value-priced turkey crowns, costing 9 pounds, over the festive period. But its disappointing performance risks turning the group itself into the feast for Britain’s other big supermarkets. Sainsbury said like-for-like sales across the group fell 1.1 percent in 15 weeks to January 5, missing analysts’ expectations for a 0.3 percent decline. True, the reporting ...

The recent presidential address and the response from Democratic Party’s leaders in Congress offered little prospect that the stand-off over President Trump’s wall will be quickly resolved. As yet, neither side looks ready to back down or seek compromise. For this to change, public opinion may need to shift. Encouragingly, last night’s exchange suggests it soon might — against Trump. ...