It may appear surprising that the spectacular abduction by the United States of Nicolás Maduro – a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter – has unleashed only the faintest of financial shockwaves. Not only did markets easily absorb this event, they immediately wanted to know what would happen next. There has been no massive flight to safe assets, no financial dislocation, no lasting pressure on...

The residential real-estate market in France has been severely impacted by the sharp rise in mortgage rates since 2022. While the decline in housing sales was quick to materialize, prices in existing properties adjusted with a lag in transactions. On the new housing market, while sales are at historic lows, price declines have been more contained.