One of the most famous and incisive critics of the banking industry has now taken a job as an adviser to a bank. The outcry that has followed is not only unjustified but also bewildering. Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England, has stirred controversy with his new job at Citigroup. Critics say such moves create a …

  The collapse of China’s stock markets a year ago was eye-catching, but in the end, hardly earth-shattering. Despite the pain for millions of retail investors, the fact is that stocks remain a small part of the financial system in China. Their brief, giddy rise and spectacular collapse never really threatened the wider Chinese economy, let alone the global financial …

  Bloomberg US stocks fluctuated near an all-time high, while a rebound in crude oil lifted energy producers and gold snapped its longest rally in six weeks. The rally in global bonds faltered. The S&P 500 Index swung between gains and losses as retailers stumbled a second day on lackluster quarterly results. Crude rose past $40 a barrel after U.S. …