©2015 Bloomberg News NQD85Z6K50YG (Bloomberg) — Labor productivity would dwindle as workers wilt in the heat. Summers in Illinois would feel like a Louisiana swamp. Epic downpours and surging seas of the future would leave $5 trillion in losses. And worsening air quality would result in 57,000 premature deaths in

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ5V7L6JIJUW (Bloomberg) — Federal regulators took a step Thursday toward making Internet connections eligible for a $1.6 billion government subsidy that helps poor Americans afford telephones. The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to consider changes proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler, a Democrat, to the

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ5ZV96JIJUY (Bloomberg) — After nine months of division in Hong Kong that saw protesters clash with police, the city’s decision on whether to accept a China-backed plan for picking its chief executive ended with 28 lawmakers voting against and 8 for. A widely expected narrow defeat of

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ5GUS6JIJUO (Bloomberg) — Prime Minister David Cameron will say British Muslims should stop extremist ideologies taking root in their communities if they want to stem the flow of radicalized Islamists traveling to fight in Syria and Iraq. Muslims who “quietly condone” prejudices either online or in their

©2015 Bloomberg View NQ49DH6KLVR5 (Bloomberg View) — Sometimes the gains from a new regulatory regime are obvious. The creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is a perfect example. Your bank deposits are guaranteed by the government up to some stated amount, no matter the recklessness or irresponsibility of the

©2015 Bloomberg View NPZO826S972P (Bloomberg View) — I decided to bring back my old “Ask the Blogger” personal finance feature for today, so readers can ask questions and your humble columnist can answer them. I’m vested in the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, with 18 years of service. I’m in

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ24D46JIJUU (Bloomberg) — Oil advanced for the first time in four days amid speculation that U.S. crude stockpiles will decline further, easing a supply surplus. Inventories probably shrank for a seventh week as refiners processed more crude to meet increased fuel consumption in the summer, according to

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ258MSYF01X (Bloomberg) — The longest drumroll in the 102-year history of the Federal Reserve precedes its next interest-rate increase. That doesn’t mean some of its effects won’t be surprising. “This is a major inflection point,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer for Wells Fargo & Co.’s private

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ0E7C6K50Y3 (Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc received U.S. approval to disturb marine mammals as part of its plan to resume oil exploration off Alaska’s Arctic coast. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an “incidental harassment authorization,” which allows noise from air guns, icebreaking, drilling and

©2015 Bloomberg News NQ07LM6KLVR7 (Bloomberg) — A rice glut that sent prices slumping more than a year ago is shrinking, just as El Nino arrives to parch paddies across Asia. Global inventories were already heading for an eight-year low, including stockpiles so spoiled that top exporter Thailand may sell most