President Trump really dislikes the 2015 Clean Water Rule. Barely a month after taking office he directed the Environmental Protection Agency to take steps towards killing it. The “horrible, horrible” rule, he said, was a “massive power grab” that burdens farmers and developers with restrictions on “every puddle” and “every ditch.” In fact, the rule simply clarifies the scope of ...

As far as ideas go, the notion that Beijing has bargaining power over Washington by virtue of being America’s largest creditor is an old chestnut. However, the current US-China trade conflict has revived interest in the drop in Chinese holdings of US Treasuries to their lowest level in a year and a half. The fifth straight decline took the stock ...

Nobody can know if, when Deng Xiaoping launched his strategy of “Reform and Opening Up” 40 years ago, even he could have predicted the near-miraculous transformation of the Chinese economy that would follow. In the years since then, hundreds of millions have been lifted out of abject poverty and into the ranks of the global middle class; China’s industrial heartland ...

Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, took two big blows in less than 24 hours. Investors should worry less about the bruises, and more about what he might do to recover from them before next year’s general elections. The first knock came when besieged Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  governor Urjit Patel abruptly resigned. Although he cited personal reasons, nobody ...

Traders and investors will be glad to see the back of 2018. It’s been the worst rout since 1901, by Deutsche Bank AG’s reckoning, with almost every asset class delivering losses. The figures illustrate the backdrop to what went wrong this year – and hint at what could go better in 2019. $14,889,930,106,680 That’s how much the total value of ...

Bloomberg US stocks climbed as investors waited to see whether Federal Reserve policy makers would strike a dovish stance when they reveal their rate decision on Wednesday. The S&P 500 Index edged higher in early trading as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index looked set to snap a four-day losing streak. Still, a cautious tone prevailed after executives from FedEx warned ...

Bloomberg India’s currency and sovereign bonds rallied as sliding oil prices improved the outlook for the nation’s finances and the central bank extended support via its open-market debt purchases. The rupee is on course for its biggest three-day advance since September 2013, with the drop in Brent crude seen helping reduce India’s net oil import bill and narrowing its current-account ...

Bloomberg Deutsche Bank AG, the German lender that’s struggling to enact a turnaround, has seen a surge in turnover among investment bankers in Asia since May, as cost-cutting and sinking morale has prompted dealmakers to leave, people with knowledge of the matter said. Almost 50 bankers in Hong Kong and Singapore have left in the past six months, or about ...

Bloomberg An international criminal investigation into Danske Bank A/S has led to the first group of bankers being apprehended, and prosecutors say more will probably follow. Police in Estonia have detained 10 former Danske employees in connection with what may be Europe’s biggest ever money laundering case. The country’s head of central criminal police, Aivar Alavere, said the group is ...

Bloomberg The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fined Banco Santander SA’s UK unit 32.8 million pounds ($42 million) — the regulator’s biggest penalty this year — for failing to pass on inheritances to dead customers’ beneficiaries. The bank didn’t transfer funds totalling 183 million pounds to beneficiaries when it should have, affecting 40,428 customers, the regulator said on Wednesday. The bank ...