Europe’s governments are arguing over how to tighten their economic sanctions on Russia. The main gap in their punitive system is their continuing payments for Russian gas. Germany, especially, has been reluctant to impose a ban because its economy would struggle to cope with the consequences. Economics suggest a much better approach: Instead of making Russian gas illegal, Europe should ...

  Who would be a central banker in these febrile times, trying to navigate a path between soaring prices and a gloomy growth outlook? While policy makers everywhere face similar challenges, the ECB task is particularly tricky given its deeply negative interest rates. With the money market pricing in a rapid climb in borrowing costs that would threaten to tip ...

  In oil markets, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has a reputation a little like the one the Russian armed forces used to have — vast and fearsome, a rival you’d be unwise to tangle with. Russia’s aura of military invincibility was dealt a near-fatal blow over the past month in the muddy fields of Ukraine. The Biden administration should ...