Bank capital is back in the financial headlines. In late July, US banking regulators, led by the Federal Reserve, announced plans to finalize the so-called Basel 3 reforms (which banks like to call Basel 4, owing to their significant impact). The aim, according to a joint agency proposal, is “to improve the strength and resilience of the banking system” by modifying large capital requirements to better reflect underlying risks, and by applying more transparent and consistent requirem

First-generation college students are less alone than they were a decade ago. Today, more than half of America's undergraduate students have parents who never got bachelor's degrees. Many campuses have programs to empower them, such as by connecting them with mentors, academic support and financial aid. But there's a lot more that can be done. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down race-conscious college admissions, first-generation students are a logical group for universitie

There are more discussions that a so-called new Cold War is on the way. Similar to the Soviet-led communist bloc during the Cold War era, which confronted the US-led capitalist bloc, North Korea, China and Russia could form an international bloc against the US-led one. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's recent visit to Russia drew attention because it was an opportunity to promote discussions of the new Cold War further. North Korea and Russia have mocked the UN Security Council's res

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s dramatic statement in parliament that there were “credible allegations” Indian intelligence was behind the murder of a radical Sikh activist in British Columbia came as a shock to many in India for a couple of reasons. For one thing, most of us still believe that we’re the good guys and our government doesn’t do this kind of thing. More importantly, if India actually did conduct an assassination on Western soil -- which its

Since 1965, when a large number of Koreans began immigrating to the US, Los Angeles has been the undisputed center for the Korean diaspora community in America. Los Angeles means “city of angels” in Spanish and Korean immigrants have often looked to the city as a place of settling down in America. Koreans who went there overcame hardships and ordeals on foreign soil to pursue their dreams, just like pioneers in the Wild West. Given their motivation and drive, it is small wonder that

If anyone had lingering doubts about the fractured state of global rule-making, they should now be dispelled. The just-concluded G-20 summit in New Delhi attracted as much attention for who was not there -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping -- as for the discussions among those who showed up. But the real takeaway from the summit, as well as the gathering of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) that preceded it, is that global rule-making is

Ronald Reagan famously used the phrase, “There you go again,” to imply that his Democratic opponents were full of bull and hyperbole. I can't think of a more appropriate response to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to pursue an impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, in a desperate attempt to throw MAGA House members a bone so they won't try to shut down government funding in September . Without a shred of credible evidence, the GOP will be fishing f

I realized I had a problem with internet shopping the day my 13-year-old niece looked at the packing slip in a box that had just arrived and yelled, "What -- $200 for a pair of jeans?!" I can explain. I have never spent $200 on a pair of jeans in my life. Kirkland, after all, is my couturier. But an ad for "Jetset Flare" jeans kept popping up on my Instagram feed. And my Facebook feed. I knew nothing about the brand, Frame. But I loved the way the jeans looked on the incredib

A new legal effort to prevent Donald Trump from retaking the presidency next year is afoot. Its backers rely on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, which bars from office anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion … or given aid or comfort to the enemies” of the United States. Numerous lawsuits have been filed arguing that Trump’s participation in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 -- either by itself or as part of a larger effort to

Reading articles about cities around the world almost always invites comparisons with Seoul because it’s the city I know best. I lived in Seoul for 12 years at different times starting in the mid-1980s and ending in the mid-2010s. In the years I didn’t live in Seoul, I visited the city at least once a year, except for the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 40 years that Seoul has been in my life, I’ve seen the city change and grow as South Korea has transformed it

A movie starring Helen Mirren as Golda Meir has just opened, 50 years after the war that ended the Israeli prime minister’s career. More snore than sleeper hit, “Golda” captures its subject’s Chesterfield chain-smoking while brushing past a timely lesson about diplomacy: to be effective, leaders need to know each other’s personalities as well as each other’s national interests. America, for its part, has blundered when presidents have confused the two. Preside

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15 set himself apart from his predecessors. He did not mention Japan’s brutal 35-year colonial rule, from which the nation was freed on the day 78 years ago. Instead, Yoon bore hatred toward his perceived enemies at home, calling them “anti-state forces.” “The forces of communist totalitarianism have always disguised themselves as democracy activists, human rights advocates or progressive activists while engagi

Last month, California regulators allowed two companies that operate self-driving cars to accept paying customers in San Francisco. The first week did not go well. One car drove itself onto freshly poured concrete in a road construction zone with traffic cones and workers with flags. The car got stuck in the wet concrete, and the company will be paying to repave the road. In a more serious incident, a passenger in a driverless car was injured in a collision with a fire truck. As a result, the op

No country can survive alone these days. Every country is interdependent and mutually beneficial in one way or another. This is especially true for a country like South Korea, whose economy depends heavily on export and trade, or whose national security largely relies on its allies. It would not be wise for such a country to provoke other countries and make enemies. Enemies, of course, are the exception. It is difficult to be on good terms with hostile countries that threaten you with lethal wea