The Federal Reserve is playing it safe amid the looming uncertainty. That’s what the minutes of its last meeting on July 26-27 reflect. The Fed officials are still divided over interest-rate hike, even though New York Fed chief William Dudley flagged the prospect of an increase as soon as September. However, the minutes clearly show that the policy makers …

  On Wednesday, Indonesia celebrated its Independence Day with a bang — blowing up several Chinese boats that had been caught fishing illegally in its waters and impounded. China doesn’t dispute Indonesia’s territorial claims, but Chinese fishermen have more pressing concerns. According to reports in Chinese state media this week, overfishing and pollution have so depleted China’s own fishery resources …

  How many times have you heard someone say that the Federal Reserve’s asset-purchase program known as quantitative easing was ineffective? At least, that’s what I keep hearing from the usual pundits arguing their case on television and in print. I have my own suspicions that monetary stimulus works well enough to thaw frozen credit markets, as it did amid …