“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” —Karl Marx Norman Thomas was not easily discouraged. Running for president in 1932, three years into the shattering, terrifying Depression, which seemed to many to be a systemic crisis of capitalism, Thomas, who had been the Socialist Party’s candidate in 1928 and would be in 1936, 1940, 1944 ...

The European Central Bank (ECB) has become the Schroedinger’s cat of global monetary policy. It has managed to be both awake and asleep at the same time. Three senior policy makers signaled concerns over euro-area growth in recent days. At last, officials are finally alive to the risks that the bloc’s situation has become serious. Terrible industrial sales and orders ...

Never mind the mixed signals about the state of global consumers, and never mind Amazon.com Inc.’s growing might. Walmart Inc.’s run of booming comparable sales growth continues unabated. The big-box giant reported that its US comparable sales rose 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, better than analysts had expected. It was its biggest growth on this ...

Singapore’s largest bank had only the briefest of honeymoons with an improving global economy. Rising global interest rates, amplified by US president Donald Trump’s late-cycle fiscal expansion, boosted DBS Group Holdings Ltd.’s loan profitability. But only up to a point. In the past three months, the two to four rate increases CEO Piyush Gupta expected from the Federal Reserve in ...

When it comes to the trade talks with China, US President Donald Trump and his negotiators have more leverage than any US administration has ever had. Chinese policymakers are desperate for a trade deal with the US in order to avoid more damage to China’s economy by further pressuring its trade surplus and export industries. There is speculation that Trump ...

Facebook Inc. might have one reason to be thankful for Brexit. UK lawmakers investigating disinformation and fake news published their findings. Among the select committee’s recommendations was the insistence that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Britain’s antitrust authority, conduct a “deep audit of the advertising market on social media.” There’s no doubt that the CMA is the correct body ...

Small businesses are a pillar of capitalism and of a healthy economy. They provide a path into the middle and upper-middle class for people who don’t have elite connections or a fancy college degree. And they distribute capital income broadly, so that the gains from business ownership aren’t concentrate among a few wealthy shareholders. Retail is a big component of ...

Bloomberg US equity futures struggled for direction and stocks in Europe and Asia climbed as investors awaited the release of minutes from the latest meetings of two of the world’s key central banks. The dollar edged higher and the yuan rose after a report America is asking China to keep its currency stable. Contracts on the Dow Jones and S&P ...

Bloomberg As suddenly as it rolled in, the crisis of confidence that shook Chinese stocks last year may be ending. The rally since January has added more than $893 billion to the value of the country’s equities, lifting Shenzhen’s risky startups and state-backed giants alike. The rebound has been so quick and widespread that it’s already triggered signs of overheating ...

Bloomberg As Samsung Electronics Co. unveils the next generation of its smartphones on Wednesday, investors will no doubt be looking for a better showing from the mobile giant after a difficult 2018. Based on the hot start from Samsung shares, they already seem to be counting on South Korea’s biggest stock to succeed. It has surged 21 percent so far ...