The world’s largest and most influential development bank said on Wednesday it would lift its longstanding ban on funding nuclear power projects. The decision by the board of the World Bank could have profound implications for the ability of developing countries to industrialize without burning planet-warming fuels such as coal and oil. The ban has…
The World Economic Forum, the organization behind the annual gathering of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, is investigating allegations of improper behavior by its founder, Klaus Schwab. The board of the World Economic Forum opened an inquiry into Mr. Schwab in April after receiving a letter, anonymously attributed to current and former staff members, claiming…
The stock market is now higher than before President Trump’s broad and steep tariffs sent share prices into a tailspin. The 10-year government bond yield is now largely in line with where it started the year. On Tuesday, a widely watched measure of inflation nudged lower. Judging from a snapshot of today’s financial markets, it…
How much should I save in an emergency fund? Vanguard, the big mutual fund company, suggests setting aside $2,000, or half of one month’s expenses, whichever is greater, as a buffer to cover unexpected but common “shocks,” like a car or home repair or medical bill. Then, to protect against a possible job loss, it…
A year ago, the world’s biggest automaker was on a tear. American consumers were snapping up Toyota Motor’s hybrids, and a weak yen inflated the value of the company’s earnings. That May, Toyota reported the highest annual profit ever recorded by a Japanese firm. On Thursday, Toyota presented a significantly more somber outlook, projecting that…
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for a third meeting in a row on Wednesday, as officials stuck to a wait-and-see approach amid heightened uncertainty about how significantly President Trump’s tariffs will raise inflation and slow growth. The unanimous decision to stand pat will keep interest rates at 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent. Rates…
The toll for misconduct at the fallen Swiss bank Credit Suisse just keeps getting bigger. Federal prosecutors said on Monday that UBS, which rescued Credit Suisse from the brink of collapse two years ago, would pay $510 million in fines for the role Credit Suisse played in helping clients evade taxes. Credit Suisse, among other…
Less than a year ago, the Federal Reserve took decisive action to bolster the U.S. economy. With inflation easing and the labor market starting to soften, the central bank opted to go big, lowering interest rates by half a percentage point and signaling further cuts to come. Rather than a panicky response to a crisis…
Before Zygmund Furmaniuk’s aunt Mary died in 2023, she set up a trust to hold her assets and to distribute her estate, which was valued at nearly $1 million. A retired chemistry teacher, Mary Furmaniuk was single and had no children. Creating the trust, Mr. Furmaniuk said, was her way of making sure her assets…
The growing list of major economies warning of weaker growth because of U.S. tariffs has a new member. The Bank of Japan said on Thursday that it expects the Japanese economy to grow 0.5 percent in the fiscal year that started on April 1. That is a sharp downgrade from the 1.1 percent the central…