Banks are under pressure from the prolonged low-interest-rate environment and increased regulatory pressures. For most Western lenders, the only solution going forward is to cut costs, but at a level that few will want to take on.

Trade agreements everywhere are hostage to politics and protest, meaning that the UK can't expect an easy ride as it prepares for post-Brexit life, writes Brian Caplen.

Banking union is another EU policy stuck halfway, writes Brian Caplen.

As the UK comes to terms with the result of its referendum decision to leave the EU, the challenges facing what is left of the union are mounting, writes Brian Caplen.

The EU should respond constructively to the UK's referendum result for its own survival.

India will rue the loss of central bank governor Raghuram Rajan but in Brazil, having Henrique Meirelles back in government is the best news the crisis-torn country has had in quite a while, writes Brian Caplen.

Brussels has to start by admitting its mistakes before it can move forward, writes Brian Caplen.

Danish mortgage bank Nykredit Realkredit's decision to issue senior subordinated Tier 3 notes that will sit between equity and subordinated debt and senior unsecured debt in the liquidation hierarchy will have a widespread impact across Europe, says Brian Caplen.

Venezuela faces severe economic, social and political instability as the policies of late president Hugo Chávez continue to unravel, leading to fears that the country could be set for a default that is hard-hitting even by Latin American standards, as Brian Caplen writes.

Many small German companies – the mittelstand – are as Eurosceptic as the UK counterparts, and the EU would be well advised to listen to their concerns, writes Brian Caplen.