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Australia’s bushfires have given officials plenty of cover to do what they should be doing anyway: ramp up fiscal spending. A lot hinges on whether they can get comfortable with the idea. An area larger than Ireland has been destroyed, at least 25 people are dead, 2,000 homes have been razed, and 25 million acres of forest and bush have ...

One of the most interesting sessions I attended at last week’s American Economic Association meeting was a panel titled “Making global markets work for American workers.” The discussion, featuring economists Dani Rodrik, Kimberly Clausing and Josh Bivens, laid out the problems with free trade, the shortcomings of US trade policy during the past few decades and some suggestions for improvement. ...

Every once in a while, a single anecdotal data point captures the hearts and minds of bond traders. Often, it confirms their beliefs about the direction of the economy. It seems one such data point was a report this week that Taco Bell, the fast-food chain that sells double-stacked tacos for $1, would soon be offering a $100,000 salary for ...

And you thought Boeing Co. couldn’t possibly have another “what were they thinking” 737 Max moment. Last week, the airplane maker released a stunning batch of internal messages that paint a disturbing picture of employees’ efforts to avoid more rigorous scrutiny of the troubled Max and ensure only minimal training was required for pilots. The employees derided certain airline customers, ...

Bloomberg US equity futures advanced with Asian shares on Monday while Europe stocks fluctuated as investors showed mild optimism at the start of a busy week set to be dominated by the beginning of earnings season and the signing of a partial China trade deal. Bonds, the yen and gold retreated. Contracts on the S&P 500 signalled a rebound from ...

Bloomberg When it comes to Philippine stocks, 2020 so far isn’t looking better than 2019. Barely two weeks into the new year, and the market is the worst performer among major Asian peers, with overseas fund withdrawals reminiscent of January 2008. Back then, fears of a US recession roiled global shares and pummeled Manila into a bear market. Last year, ...

Bloomberg The years-long disputes between China and South Korea are getting resolved, and analysts at Nomura Holdings Inc expect Chinese tourists to return en masse to the Korean nation. That’s a boon for shares of cosmetics producers and travel-related companies. Amorepacific Corp, the maker of beauty products that are popular souvenirs among Chinese women, climbed as much as 6.6% on ...

Bloomberg The pound dropped and gilts climbed after another member of the Bank of England’s (BOE) monetary policy committee pointed to a potential vote for an interest-rate cut this month and data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in November. Sterling led losses among Group-of-10 currencies, on course for its fifth consecutive day of declines. Policy maker Gertjan Vlieghe said ...

Bloomberg With a trade deal nearly signed and China’s economy on steadier footing, the path for China’s yuan to strengthen is now wide open. The currency rose to a five-month high on Monday, punching past 6.9 per dollar for the first time since August. It also strengthened for a fourth session versus a basket of trading partners’ currencies. The move ...

Bloomberg Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to double its headcount in China over the next five years, provided the Communist Party-ruled nation continues down the path of opening up its financial markets. The ambition to raise staffing to 600 is part of a five-year plan drawn up by executives at the New York-based investment bank, said a person familiar with ...