Europe urgently needs to repair a banking system that’s weighing on the region’s economy. Governments say they understand, but they still aren’t taking the task seriously. The issue is global standards for capital — the bedrock financing that makes banks capable of absorbing losses without going bust. Lack of capital in 2008 turned financial setbacks into a full-scale crisis. …

  Venezuela’s political and economic mess is deepening. Pro and anti-government rallies were taken out on Wednesday as the game of trading accusations continues to imperil the country’s future. Its president Nicolas Maduro has been charged by the opposition with halting the decision to call a referendum on removing him from power. On the other hand, Maduro has accused the …

After many years of 7- to 10-percent growth, economies tend to overheat, creating bubbles that burst. That’s what happened to South Korea and Japan in the 1980s and 1990s. But China’s economy keeps plugging along (though probably not at its published growth rate of 6.7 percent), defying the predictions of doomsaying pundits. Some indicators show a recovery this year. That …

  When disgraced Brazilian powerbroker Eduardo Cunha was arrested last week, the country’s political establishment wobbled. Known for his Machiavellian skills as Brazil’s Frank Underwood, the former lower house speaker was the biggest target in the biggest corruption scandal on record. He had repeatedly insinuated that he wouldn’t go down alone. No one has more to fear from that threat …

  The U.K. may be on the verge of an unprecedented experiment in public accountability. The courts may soon be invited to consider the following question: Should government officials face prosecution if the actions they took to support the financial system during the credit crisis stink in hindsight? In late 2007 and early 2008, with markets in a meltdown and …

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets saw lacklustre trade on Wednesday as low oil prices and weak earnings weighed on investor sentiment. Crude prices declined for a third day, hovering near $50 a barrel for the first time in three weeks, amid doubts that OPEC members will agree to a cut output. “Investor sentiment appears to be weak in …

London / AFP World stock markets mostly retreated on Wednesday, weighed down by miners’ shares and oil prices, while Apple dragged Wall Street lower, traders said. After declines for the bulk of Asia’s stock markets, Europe’s top indices were showing losses of up to 1.2 percent compared with Tuesday’s closing levels. The heaviest faller on London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index …

  Bloomberg Airbus Group SE promised a year-end sprint to meet its 2016 earnings and delivery goals after a switch to new planes weighed on profit and output in the first nine months. The European company plans to pull out the stops to ship almost as many A350 wide-body jets in the final quarter as it did between January and …

  Bloomberg British regulators fined Vodafone Group Plc 4.63 million pounds ($5.63 million) for failing to credit customers who bought mobile-phone minutes and data, and then mishandling complaints that came in afterward. Over 17 months, more than 10,000 customers lost 150,000 pounds, one investigation found, the regulator Ofcom said in a statement. The mistakes resulted from a new billing system, …

  Bloomberg Line Corp. reported third-quarter profit and revenue that missed analyst estimates as the company pushes into advertising to offset slowing growth in the user base. Operating profit was 4.9 billion yen ($47 million) in the period ended Sept. 30, according to calculations based on nine-month numbers released by Line on Wednesday. That’s less than the 5.1 billion yen …