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Bloomberg The cost of repairing Big Ben, the iconic clock tower of Britain’s Parliament, doubled following a detailed analysis by surveyors. Repairs to the Elizabeth Tower, as the tower is properly known, will cost $82 million, up from an original estimate of 29 million pounds, the House of Commons said on Friday in an emailed statement. The name “Big Ben” ...

Top US officials have said repeatedly that America is seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis with North Korea. But President Trump’s insulting comments towards North Korean leader Kim Jong un appear to have made such a negotiated settlement more difficult. In the chaotic government-by-Twitter atmosphere of the Trump administration, no senior leader has publicly questioned whether the president’s ...

One of the unfortunate aspects of Trumpian populism is the effect it is having on our discussion of economic policy, and thereby on our understanding of the underlying goals that policies are meant to advance. This is perhaps most stark in discussions of international trade. The right used to discuss trade as a way to enrich the nation and raise ...

On Tuesday, Twitter announced that a select group of users would be able to send 280-character tweets—double the platform’s signature 140-character limit. It’s part of an experiment testing whether longer character limits would be better for everyone. The company explained that, in languages where a single character carries more meaning—Chinese, Japanese and Korean—they see “more people tweeting—which is awesome!” If ...

Until now, the defining feature of the Trump administration’s trade policy has been a worrisome yet vague recklessness. The US Commerce Department’s new ruling on Boeing’s dispute with Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft maker, shows the harm that comes when the administration gets specific. The rules that regulate trade can’t work without restraint and a commitment to a liberal economic order. ...

Political pressure is gradually forcing Facebook executives to take responsibility for the content that appears on the social network, at this point mainly for the advertising. So far, they are doing a good job of avoiding the real subject. On Wednesday, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg addressed the recent discovery that ads on Facebook could be targeted at “Jew haters”—or, ...

The Federal Reserve and other central banks have been on a quest since 2012 to get inflation back up to levels they deem appropriate for a stable, growing economy. There have been many setbacks along the way, leaving central bankers stumped, with Fed Chair Janet Yellen saying the slowdown in inflation has been a “mystery.” But their crusade may now ...

Eric Ries, an entrepreneur and the author of “The Lean Startup” and other business books, has started a company to create a new stock exchange. The Long-Term Stock Exchange will lock up investors’ money for a long time, forcing them to think beyond next quarter’s earnings. Obviously this lack of liquidity will cause stock sold on the new exchange to ...

Reuters The Saudi stock index fell on Sunday after news that index compiler FTSE had decided to delay including Riyadh in its secondary emerging market index, while Kuwaiti blue chips were strong after FTSE included Kuwait. In its annual country classification review, FTSE praised Riyadh’s market reforms but said it would need more time to evaluate their practical impact. It ...

Bloomberg South Korean exports surged to a record last month in the latest sign that stronger global trade is helping to underpin growing momentum for the global economy. The nation’s shipments abroad rose for an 11th month in September, driven by overseas demand for steel, semiconductors and petrochemical products. Exports jumped 35 percent from a year earlier, the trade ministry ...