WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it would provide businesses another 15,000 H-2B visas to bring low-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. this summer, offering a modest infusion to the popular program. The number of visas available each year for seasonal work is capped by statute at 66,000, evenly divided between the summer and → Read More

DUBLIN—Ireland’s landslide vote in favor of allowing abortion revealed a country that has undergone a profound and rapid transformation from a conservative, deeply Catholic nation to an increasingly secular one that is steadily embracing the liberal mores of the rest of Europe. With counting in 37 of the 40 electoral districts completed Saturday, 67.3% of → Read More

Executive orders shorten “performance improvement period” and seek to pare some union powers. Read More

A former missionary from Utah who spent two years in a Venezuelan prison in what human rights lawyers called a trumped up case is to be released later Saturday by President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian government, U.S. officials said in morning announcements. “Good news about the release of the American hostage from Venezuela,” President Donald Trump → Read More

In my 40s, I did something smart with my investment portfolio: nothing. When I was 30, an economist had given me a good tip. “You can’t reliably beat the market, so invest in low-fee stock and bond index funds.” I followed his advice, and by the age of 40, even on a journalist’s middling salary, → Read More

So far, the month of May is turning out to be a solid, if not turbulent, period for stock-market investors, but there’s plenty of cause for caution. Indeed, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.24% is staged for the best May performance in nine years, boasting a month-to-date return of 2.8% thus far, while the Dow → Read More

MARKETWATCH PERSONAL FINANCE The gap between male and female student debt nearly doubled in four years. See full story. Read More

Chinese authorities are set to approve Qualcomm Inc.’s planned $44 billion acquisition of Netherlands-based NXP Semiconductors NV in the next few days, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be another significant step toward easing frayed U.S.-China trade relations. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, which has been conducting the antitrust review, → Read More

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a surprise meeting at the demilitarized zone Saturday aimed at keeping inter-Korean relations, and a possible summit between Kim and President Donald Trump, on track. South Korea’s presidential office announced the two-hour meeting after it had wrapped up, saying the two leaders → Read More

The bottle: Citadelle Extremes No. 1 “No Mistake” Old Tom Gin, $55 The back story: As we head into summer, our thoughts turn to gin, the spirit with that dry, juniper-y bite that seems tailor-made for sipping in warm weather. But what if traditional gin is just a little too dry for one’s taste? As → Read More