Kenneth Chenault, the former chairman and chief executive of American Express Co. AXP, +0.90%  , is stepping down next year from his board roles at International Business Machines Corp. and Procter & Gamble Co. Chenault, 67, plans to retire from the boards of IBM IBM, +2.15%   and P&G PG, +2.14%   on Feb. 13, → Read More

Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, again denied ever visiting Prague or the Czech Republic on Thursday, after a new report that seemed to support claims that he had clandestine meetings with Russians in Prague in the summer of 2016. Earlier Thursday, McClatchy News Service reported that foreign intelligence → Read More

U.S. marijuana producer Green Growth Brands Ltd. said late Thursday it has made a takeover bid for Aphria Inc., one of Canada’s largest cannabis producers by market value. Aphria APHA, -4.30% APHA, +0.13%  stock soared 26% in after-hours trading Thursday after closing down 4.3% at $5.57 during the regular session. Aphria’s Canada-listed shares were halted → Read More

LONDON (Project Syndicate) — In times of political turmoil, events can move from impossible to inevitable without even passing through improbable. In early 2016, the idea of Britain leaving the European Union seemed almost as absurd as the next American president being the six-time bankrupt and serial sex pest Donald Trump. A few months later, → Read More

PARIS (Project Syndicate) — Forty years ago, on Dec. 29, 1978, the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China released the official communiqué from its third plenary session, launching the greatest economic-growth experiment in human history. In newspeak understandable to CPC insiders, the country’s leaders, channeling the wishes of Deng Xiaoping, announced a → Read More

Saudi Arabia’s king on Thursday moved to bolster his son and heir apparent and contain political fallout after the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, elevating allies of the crown prince and surrounding him with experienced advisers. In a series of royal decrees, the 82-year-old monarch promoted trusted associates of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, → Read More

MARKETWATCH FRONT PAGE Volatility continued to reign Thursday, with stocks erasing heavy losses to end higher in a late-session turnaround that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average end more than 800 points above its session low. See full story. This stock-market volatility gauge is about to do something it hasn’t done since 2011 Stock-market volatility → Read More

A cash windfall can be a jarring transition for many people. The prospect of managing large sums of money often leads novice investors to enlist a financial adviser for help. For the relationship to flourish, the client needs to feel a sense of trust and reassurance right from the start. “When people haven’t had time → Read More

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers and the White House made no progress Thursday toward a deal to end the partial federal government shutdown, likely leaving the border-wall funding fight as the first order of business for the new Congress next year. The Senate convened briefly Thursday afternoon before adjourning until Monday, Dec. 31, the latest sign that → Read More

Elon Musk sought to dismiss a defamation lawsuit, with his lawyers arguing that no one could have taken seriously his claim that a British cave diver is a pedophile, especially because the statement was made in the “rough and tumble” forum of Twitter. The motion, filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in California, is → Read More