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  Bloomberg Indonesia’s economy expanded less than forecast in the fourth quarter as government spending was curbed by a legal cap on the fiscal deficit. Gross domestic product rose 4.94 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Jakarta on Monday. Median estimate of economists was for 5 percent growth GDP declined 1.77 percent ...

  Bloomberg The wallets of Japan’s workers ended up a bit fatter, with total earnings rising the most since 2010. Total pay rose 0.5 percent from the previous year to an average 3.78 million yen ($33,673), while the number of hours worked dropped. Regular workers saw an increase in pay, while part-timers, who are an increasingly large sector of the ...

  TOKYO / AP Toyota Motor Corp. said on Monday that its profit fell 23 percent in the October-December quarter from a year earlier as its sales fell and a stronger yen squeezed its overseas earnings. The company, which recently relinquished the crown of world’s biggest automaker to German rival Volkswagen, reported its fiscal third quarter profit was 486.5 billion ...

  With an asperity born of exasperation, Justice Antonin Scalia once wrote, “If you want aspirations, you can read the Declaration of Independence,” but “there is no such philosophizing in our Constitution,” which is “a practical and pragmatic charter of government.” Scalia was wrong, and much depends on Neil Gorsuch not resembling Scalia in this regard. Gorsuch can endorse Scalia’s ...

  The going-concern issue is becoming a problem in Singapore. Ezra Holdings Ltd., an oil-services company, was the latest to indicate it faces debt hurdles that require a restructuring. Under Singapore law, as in the US, that could mean a stay on interest payments until creditors and shareholders agree on a balance sheet that allows the company to keep operating ...

  Marine Le Pen could be France’s next president. Sure, her lead in some polls exaggerates her strength before the field narrows to two candidates — but voters’ discontent with normal politics isn’t subsiding. Failing to take the anti-immigrant, populist insurgent seriously would be a huge mistake. For France’s sake, and Europe’s, Le Pen must be defeated. Her party’s blend ...

  Trump administration is pulling out all the stops in its efforts to get the US President’s ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries and on all refugees reinstated. On Sunday, a federal appeals court denied the Justice Department’s request for an immediate reinstatement of Trump’s ban. The detention of dozens and the return of others to their departure points ...

  The right-wing, nationalist resurgence in Europe is now a cliche. It is, however, not inconceivable that a successful backlash is developing in some countries before the nationalists had a chance to take over. It’s too early to draw any conclusions, but in the European Union’s two biggest economies — Germany and France (the UK should no longer count) — ...

  The UK economy is in a holding pattern after the June referendum decision to quit the European Union. Growth hasn’t collapsed, consumers are still spending, and the Bank of England (BoE) kept its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday. And while Governor Mark Carney says future moves could be in ‘either direction,’ it’s pretty clear that inflation would have to ...

  In his early days in office, true to his campaign promises, President Donald Trump is promoting a $1 trillion plan to upgrade the nation’s aging physical infrastructure. To maximize job creation, investment and benefits to all Americans, he should also focus on our “invisible infrastructure” — the unseen airwaves that enable wireless connections. Mobile communication has been a powerful ...