Many things have gotten harder as the world settles into a protracted spell of low oil prices and sluggish growth — from avoiding deflation to creating jobs. One thing has gotten easier, as well as more urgent: eliminating fossil-fuel subsidies. Governments have long paid lip service to this idea. The G-20 has been promising to phase out fuel subsidies ...

Never before has a G20 summit faced such diverse and gruelling challenge as the September 4-5 Hangzhou meet encounters. Themed aptly as ‘Towards an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy’, the world is eagerly awaiting the event, hoping it delivers something beyond just pledges — A strategy towards an effective global economic synergy. The meeting comes at a very ...

  Well before the Brazilian Senate threw Dilma Rousseff out of office on Wednesday, by a commanding 61 votes to 20, even her most fervent supporters sensed her days as head of state were numbered. Yet to judge by the commotion from her loyalist rearguard, you’d think a political comeback were underway. The suspended president took the stand at her ...

  Finland’s flirtation with an unconditional, universal basic income has entered a decisive stage: Draft legislation for a pilot project has been presented for public discussion, which will run until Sept. 9. It’s clear that what the Nordic nation wants to try is neither overly ambitious nor particularly useful. Paying every citizen of a country the same amount of money ...

  Everyone knows the story of IEX by now, but let’s tell it again anyway. Some investors were sad. They were sad because they wanted to buy some stock, and their computers told them that there were 5,000 shares of the stock available on different exchanges at a price of $20 each, but when they sent an order to buy ...

  London / AFP Europe’s main stock markets rebounded on Thursday following a weak finish to August, as traders digested worldwide manufacturing numbers. Around 1030 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was 0.1 percent higher. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 rose 0.6 percent and the Paris CAC 40 jumped 1.1 percent compared with Wednesday’s close. “The FTSE is underperforming… ...

  Dubai / Reuters Qatar’s main stock index fell in early trade on Thursday after FTSE published a list of stocks to be included in its secondary emerging market index, while Saudi Arabian petrochemical stocks sagged because of weak oil prices. The Qatari index initially rose but was down 0.8 percent after 90 minutes. Only two of the 22 stocks ...

  Bloomberg Calm has been the defining characteristic of markets over the past month, but in one asset class the degree of tranquility stands head and shoulders above the rest. Compared to the 10-year U.S. Treasury futures note, the 30-day implied volatility of equities is incredibly subdued relative to its historical average. The same can’t really be said of oil, ...

Bloomberg Billionaire Mukesh Ambani said his Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. unit will offer mobile phone calls for free, pressuring existing carriers to follow suit in what’s already one of the world’s lowest-priced wireless markets. Jio’s service will debut Sept. 5 and will be free until December, after which the company will begin charging subscribers as little as 149 rupees ($2.22) ...

  Bloomberg The good times in the world’s top steel producer may not last long. China’s biggest mills including Hesteel Co. Ltd. are warning that the improved conditions and rising prices in the first half that helped them to lift earnings may soon be about to give way. “Industry prospects are not optimistic,” Hesteel, the listed unit of China’s biggest ...