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The Economist

A flight from the dollar could wreck America’s budget

The currency’s dominance enables very high debts and deficits, meaning a plunge might spell disaster

Published on 13 April 2025 | 1:55 pm


Investors realise Trump’s pause was not the salvation it appeared

As China strikes back, reality sets in

Published on 11 April 2025 | 2:03 pm


Can China fight America alone?

The world’s two biggest economies begin an almighty trade clash

Published on 10 April 2025 | 10:16 am


The tariff madness of King Donald, explained

As his policy turns on a dime, pity those tasked with justifying his actions

Published on 10 April 2025 | 10:13 am


China has a weapon that could hurt America: rare-earth exports

It has only just begun to use it

Published on 10 April 2025 | 10:11 am


America’s financial system came close to the brink

Chaotic markets threatened to trigger a full-blown crisis

Published on 10 April 2025 | 9:35 am


Trump’s tariff pause brings investors relief—but worries remain

Amid market panic, he backs off his most extreme “reciprocal” tariffs

Published on 9 April 2025 | 7:31 pm


Bond-market convulsions look extremely dangerous

Treasury yields and other signs of stress are flashing red

Published on 9 April 2025 | 12:23 pm


Despite the pause, America’s tariffs are the worst ever trade shock

Reed Smoot, eat your heart out

Published on 9 April 2025 | 9:14 am


How to charm Donald Trump

Over the next 90 days, countries must work out what America’s president wants

Published on 8 April 2025 | 7:15 pm


Why China thinks it might win a trade war with Trump

The country’s officials vow to “fight to the end”

Published on 8 April 2025 | 2:43 pm


Where real danger might lurk in chaotic markets

The worry is that wild swings could cause their own damage

Published on 7 April 2025 | 8:05 pm


Market carnage goes global

As stockmarkets plunge, Donald Trump seems untroubled. That is scary

Published on 7 April 2025 | 12:05 pm


Trump’s trade war threatens a global recession

Investors are worried. At least the economy is starting from a position of strength

Published on 6 April 2025 | 3:51 pm


Trump has exposed America’s world-leading firms to retaliation

At companies from Alphabet to Goldman Sachs, bosses will be holding their breath

Published on 5 April 2025 | 6:17 pm


Five crazy Trump tariffs you wouldn’t believe 

Saint Pierre and Miquelon earns a dubious honour 

Published on 5 April 2025 | 2:16 pm


China hits back hard against Trump’s tariffs

Stockmarkets plunge further in response

Published on 4 April 2025 | 4:55 pm


How worrying is the weakening dollar?

In times of trouble, the greenback normally strengthens

Published on 4 April 2025 | 4:05 pm


What America’s stockmarket plunge means

Farewell to 15 years of exceptionalism?

Published on 3 April 2025 | 8:49 pm


Financial markets flail in the face of America’s tariffs

Asia is hit hardest, but nowhere looks good

Published on 3 April 2025 | 10:35 am


What a refugee camp reveals about economics

In Dzaleka, Malawi, everyone receives $9 a month

Published on 3 April 2025 | 9:50 am


Tin, an overlooked critical metal, is enjoying a boom

Prized and in short supply, its price is very volatile

Published on 3 April 2025 | 9:50 am


How Milei made Argentina deserving of an IMF bail-out

He offers the only way out of a supremely difficult situation

Published on 3 April 2025 | 9:31 am


Trump takes America’s trade policies back to the 19th century

The president jacks up tariffs on all countries, with particularly sharp rises for much of Asia

Published on 3 April 2025 | 12:06 am


The American government’s accidental private-credit subsidy

How a Depression-era lending scheme became a trillion-dollar wheeze

Published on 2 April 2025 | 9:53 pm


Can the world’s free-traders withstand Trump’s attack?

Much will depend on the courage of Europe

Published on 2 April 2025 | 3:48 pm


Trump’s “Liberation Day” is set to whack America’s economy

A rush of new tariffs will hurt growth, raise prices and worsen inequality

Published on 30 March 2025 | 1:56 pm


Even priests need the free market

What clergymen can learn from economists

Published on 27 March 2025 | 11:08 am


Can foreign investors learn to love China again? 

Wall Street still needs more to coax it back. But non-American firms may be ready to return

Published on 27 March 2025 | 11:07 am


The surging gold price is boosting Central Asia’s economies

But foreign investors might want to tread carefully

Published on 27 March 2025 | 11:06 am


Nubank has conquered Brazil. Now it is expanding overseas

The country’s struggling economy provides a push

Published on 27 March 2025 | 11:05 am


Trump’s tariff pain: the growing evidence

As “liberation day” nears, American businesses suffer 

Published on 25 March 2025 | 9:43 pm


How Europe can hurt Russia’s economy

Even if America lifts sanctions, the old continent has its own weapons

Published on 24 March 2025 | 8:01 pm


Live music seems recession-proof. Thank ticket scalpers

When demand softens, the secondary market absorbs the pain

Published on 23 March 2025 | 3:16 pm


Even the Trumpiest stocks are suffering

Investors may have misjudged which firms would thrive under the new administration

Published on 20 March 2025 | 10:37 am


Beneath investors’ feet, the ground is shifting

More remarkable than slumping share prices are the forces behind them

Published on 19 March 2025 | 6:57 pm


The Trump administration is playing a dangerous stockmarket game

American investors are extremely exposed to a sell-off—and so is the economy

Published on 19 March 2025 | 4:53 pm


America’s Democrats should embrace “abundance liberalism”

Two new books contain much to commend them

Published on 18 March 2025 | 6:16 pm


Where will be the next electric-vehicle superpower?

Three Asian countries make their pitch

Published on 18 March 2025 | 4:01 pm


Can anything get China’s shoppers to spend?

An economic recovery depends on it. Yet a new action plan may not do the job

Published on 17 March 2025 | 7:25 pm


Why rents are rising too fast

Rich-world tenants are angry, and have reason to be

Published on 16 March 2025 | 11:20 am


Can Europe cope with a free-spending Germany?

Pity the continent’s exporters

Published on 13 March 2025 | 11:37 am


More testosterone means higher pay—for some men

A changing appetite for status games could play a role

Published on 13 March 2025 | 11:15 am


Why “labour shortages” don’t really exist

Use the term, and you are almost always a bad economist or a special pleader

Published on 13 March 2025 | 10:51 am


Your guide to the new anti-immigration argument

Nativists say that migrants raise house prices, cost money and undermine economic growth. Do they have a point?

Published on 13 March 2025 | 10:47 am


What sparks an investing revolution?

Ideas that emerged from the University of Chicago in the 1960s changed the world. But as a new film shows, they almost didn’t

Published on 12 March 2025 | 7:25 pm


Will America’s stockmarket convulsions spread?

Investors are hurrying to find alternatives—but all face difficulties of their own

Published on 11 March 2025 | 6:50 pm


How Trump provoked a stockmarket sell-off

Will the president win back investors? Does he even want to?

Published on 10 March 2025 | 10:08 pm


Does Trump really want a weaker dollar?

Overturning three decades of American policy will not be painless

Published on 9 March 2025 | 3:41 pm


Investors think the Russia-Ukraine war will end soon

The prospect of peace is reshaping markets, in ways both ominous and promising

Published on 9 March 2025 | 3:36 pm


Donald Trump’s tariffs are a throwback to the 1930s

“Economic nationalism”, our predecessors wrote, “is almost an American invention”

Published on 6 March 2025 | 2:35 pm


Aid cannot make poor countries rich

For decades, officials have promised to raise economic growth. For decades, they have failed

Published on 6 March 2025 | 10:37 am


It is not the economic impact of tariffs that is most worrying

What are the lessons of the 1930s?

Published on 6 March 2025 | 10:34 am


Trump’s tariff turbulence is worse than anyone imagined

Even his concessions are less generous than expected

Published on 5 March 2025 | 9:37 pm


Why silver is the new gold

Safe-haven demand and solar panels have sent its price soaring

Published on 5 March 2025 | 7:34 pm


Trump’s new tariffs are his most extreme ever

America targets its three biggest trading partners: Canada, Mexico and China

Published on 3 March 2025 | 11:16 pm


El Salvador’s wild crypto experiment ends in failure 

Its curtailment is the price of an IMF bail-out. And one worth paying 

Published on 2 March 2025 | 2:26 pm


America is at risk of a Trumpian economic slowdown

Protectionist threats and erratic policies are combining to hurt growth

Published on 2 March 2025 | 2:20 pm


India has undermined a popular myth about development

Extreme poverty in the country has dropped to negligible levels

Published on 27 February 2025 | 10:55 am


How to get rich in 2025

Forget about your career. Today an inheritance is what matters

Published on 27 February 2025 | 10:48 am


How cheap can investing get?

The answer depends on whether speculators resist zany ETFs

Published on 26 February 2025 | 6:53 pm


Meet Trump’s fiercest opponent: the bond market

Treasury yields are falling sharply. But not for the president’s desired reasons

Published on 25 February 2025 | 8:11 pm


Stablecoins: the real crypto craze

Policymakers are racing to catch up with their rapid rise

Published on 23 February 2025 | 1:04 pm


Why American credit-card delinquencies have suddenly shot up

They are now at a 13-year high. How concerned should you be?

Published on 20 February 2025 | 11:16 am


China’s leaders look to have blinked in their property face-off

They did not want to bail out indebted firms. Now they are on the verge of doing so

Published on 20 February 2025 | 11:11 am


Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are absurd

At first glance, they are a bureaucratic nightmare. On a closer look, they are even worse

Published on 20 February 2025 | 11:03 am


To spend big, Germany’s next government may need EU help

How self-imposed constraints could lead to a bizarre outcome

Published on 20 February 2025 | 10:55 am


Investors fear inflation is coming back. They may be right

Is the world about to repeat the mistakes of the 1970s?

Published on 20 February 2025 | 10:45 am


American inflation looks increasingly worrying

Trump’s tariffs are fuelling consumer concerns, which may prove self-fulfilling

Published on 18 February 2025 | 7:25 pm


Will Europe return to Putin’s gas?

A deal with the devil would boost the continent’s miserable economy

Published on 16 February 2025 | 3:03 pm


Cheap solar power is sending electrical grids into a death spiral

Pakistan and South Africa provide a warning for other countries

Published on 13 February 2025 | 11:00 am


Russian inflation is too high. Does that matter?

In a strong economy, price pressure can endure for a long time

Published on 13 February 2025 | 10:55 am


Why you should repay your mortgage early

For the first time in decades, the arithmetic suggests settling housing loans

Published on 13 February 2025 | 10:42 am


How AI will divide the best from the rest

Optimists hope the technology will be a great equaliser. Instead, it looks likely to widen social divides

Published on 13 February 2025 | 10:41 am


The danger of relying on OpenAI’s Deep Research

Economists are in raptures, but they should be careful

Published on 13 February 2025 | 10:27 am


Elon Musk is failing to cut American spending

DOGE has so far disrupted everything in government bar the deficit

Published on 12 February 2025 | 7:11 pm


Donald Trump’s Super Bowl tariffs are an act of self-harm

Duties on aluminium and steel will throttle American industry and fragment global markets

Published on 10 February 2025 | 11:23 pm


Why Donald Trump’s protectionist zeal has only grown

Lessons from a week of chaos

Published on 6 February 2025 | 11:52 am


Narendra Modi is struggling to boost Indian growth

Tax cuts may lift short-term output, but deeper reform is required

Published on 6 February 2025 | 11:20 am


Europe has no escape from stagnation

Things look increasingly dark for the continent

Published on 6 February 2025 | 11:18 am


When will remote workers see their pay cut?

Logging on at home is a perk, yet so far it has not been treated as such

Published on 6 February 2025 | 11:15 am


Tariff uncertainty can be as ruinous as tariffs themselves

Whatever its geopolitical merits, the “madman theory” transfers badly to economics

Published on 6 February 2025 | 11:12 am


Don’t propose with a diamond

Lab-grown gems may destroy both their own value and that of natural rocks, too

Published on 6 February 2025 | 10:32 am


How to invest like a MAGA bigwig

Cannabis, crypto or half of North Dakota?

Published on 5 February 2025 | 6:47 pm


Xi Jinping shows how he will return American fire

China’s trade retaliation carries a warning of worse to come

Published on 4 February 2025 | 4:46 pm


How Trump’s tariff turbulence will cause economic pain

Mexico and Canada win a reprieve, but firms remain rattled

Published on 3 February 2025 | 10:19 pm


Trump’s brutal tariffs far outstrip any he has imposed before

Canada, Mexico and China are going to be made to suffer

Published on 2 February 2025 | 12:05 am


Why your portfolio is less diversified than you might think

The most important idea in modern finance has become maddeningly hard to implement

Published on 30 January 2025 | 11:10 am


Can Germany’s economy stage an unexpected recovery?

The situation is dire, but there are glimmers of hope

Published on 30 January 2025 | 11:09 am


Giorgia Meloni has grand banking ambitions

Will Italy’s nationalist prime minister manage to concentrate financial power?

Published on 30 January 2025 | 11:01 am


Tech tycoons have got the economics of AI wrong

Following DeepSeek’s breakthrough, the Jevons paradox provides less comfort than they imagine

Published on 30 January 2025 | 11:00 am


Donald Trump’s economic warfare has a new front

The president has threatened to blow up the global tax system. Will allies be able to stop him?

Published on 30 January 2025 | 10:58 am


Don’t let Donald Trump see our Big Mac index

America’s tariff-loving president could learn the wrong lessons from international burger prices

Published on 29 January 2025 | 5:54 pm


Will America’s crypto frenzy end in disaster?

Donald Trump’s team is about to bring digital finance into the mainstream

Published on 26 January 2025 | 4:30 pm


Do tariffs raise inflation?

Usually. But the bigger problem is that they harm economic growth and innovation

Published on 23 January 2025 | 11:23 am


European governments struggle to stop rich people from fleeing

Exit taxes are popular, and counter-productive

Published on 23 January 2025 | 11:22 am


Saba Capital wages war on underperforming British investment trusts

How many will end up in Boaz Weinstein’s sights?

Published on 23 January 2025 | 11:08 am


Has Japan truly escaped low inflation?

Its central bankers are increasingly hopeful

Published on 23 January 2025 | 11:04 am


How American bankers dodged the MAGA carnage

The masters of the universe have escaped an anti-globalist revolt

Published on 23 January 2025 | 10:47 am


China’s financial system is under brutal pressure

When will something break?

Published on 23 January 2025 | 10:45 am


The Arctic: climate change’s great economic opportunity

An enormous prize is on offer. When might it be grasped?

Published on 23 January 2025 | 10:41 am


Donald Trump issues fresh tariff threats

But it may be a while before he unleashes a universal levy

Published on 20 January 2025 | 9:15 pm


China meets its official growth target. Not everyone is convinced

For one thing, 2024 saw the second-weakest rise in nominal GDP since the 1970s

Published on 17 January 2025 | 1:37 pm


Ethiopia gets a stockmarket. Now it just needs some firms to list

The country is no longer the most populous without a bourse

Published on 16 January 2025 | 11:07 am


Are big cities overrated?

New economic research suggests so

Published on 16 January 2025 | 11:06 am


Why catastrophe bonds are failing to cover disaster damage 

The innovative form of insurance is reaching its limits

Published on 16 January 2025 | 11:04 am


“The Traitors”, a reality TV show, offers a useful economics lesson

It is a finite, sequential, incomplete information game

Published on 16 January 2025 | 10:29 am


Will Donald Trump unleash Wall Street?

Bankers have plenty of reason to be hopeful

Published on 15 January 2025 | 4:38 pm


Iran is vulnerable to a Trumpian all-out economic assault

Oil prices are already at a five-month high

Published on 13 January 2025 | 7:32 pm


Why global bond markets are convulsing

Pity anyone taking out a mortgage

Published on 12 January 2025 | 3:31 pm


The Los Angeles fires will be extraordinarily expensive

They will also expose California’s faulty insurance market

Published on 10 January 2025 | 9:01 pm


Europe could be torn apart by new divisions

The continent is at its most vulnerable in decades

Published on 9 January 2025 | 11:10 am


How corporate bonds fell out of fashion

The market is at its hottest in years—and a shadow of its former self

Published on 9 January 2025 | 11:03 am


An American purchase of Greenland could be the deal of the century

The economics of buying new territory

Published on 8 January 2025 | 8:46 pm


China’s markets take a fresh beating

Authorities have responded by bossing around investors

Published on 7 January 2025 | 4:30 pm


Can America’s economy cope with mass deportations?

Production slowdowns, more imports and pricier housing could follow

Published on 6 January 2025 | 8:33 pm


Would an artificial-intelligence bubble be so bad?

A new book by Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber argues there are advantages to financial mania

Published on 2 January 2025 | 9:54 am


Will Elon Musk dominate President Trump’s economic policy?

He will face challenges from both America firsters and conservative mainstreamers

Published on 2 January 2025 | 9:49 am


What investors expect from President Trump

Shareholders are over the moon; bondholders are readying the whip hand

Published on 1 January 2025 | 3:25 pm


China’s firms are taking flight, worrying its rulers

Policymakers at home and abroad are anxious about offshoring

Published on 29 December 2024 | 3:22 pm


Manmohan Singh was India’s economic freedom fighter

India’s most consequential finance minister, who later became PM, has died aged 92

Published on 28 December 2024 | 7:47 pm


Why fine wine and fancy art have slumped this year

Investing in luxury goods was a bad move in 2024

Published on 27 December 2024 | 11:47 am


Just how frothy is America’s stockmarket?

We crunch the numbers to assess just how euphoric investors became in 2024

Published on 22 December 2024 | 1:16 pm


Don’t count on monetary policy to make housing affordable

Unless housebuilding picks up, neither cheap nor dear money will bring relief

Published on 19 December 2024 | 10:48 am


Why Brazil’s currency is plunging

Fiscal and monetary policy are now pitted against one another

Published on 19 December 2024 | 10:46 am


The search for the world’s most efficient charities

What the data say about doing good well

Published on 19 December 2024 | 10:43 am


Conflict is remaking the Middle East’s economic order

Iran is boxed in as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Turkey look to capitalise

Published on 19 December 2024 | 10:42 am


Ukraine is winning the economic war against Russia

Whether that lasts depends on its ability to overcome acute shortages of power, men and money

Published on 18 December 2024 | 7:51 pm


The World Bank is struggling to serve all 78 poor countries

Bangladesh and Niger are very different places

Published on 12 December 2024 | 11:16 am


The Federal Reserve takes on Trump—and stubborn inflation

Time for Jerome Powell to enter the octagon

Published on 12 December 2024 | 11:12 am


What a censored speech says about China’s economy

If growth is on target, why is inflation so low?

Published on 12 December 2024 | 11:09 am


Bitcoin is up by 138% this year. It is a nonsense-free rally

The link between digital assets and mainstream finance is strengthening

Published on 12 December 2024 | 10:34 am


Which economy did best in 2024?

We rank countries on five measures

Published on 10 December 2024 | 6:43 pm


Are adults forgetting how to read?

A survey by the OECD suggests so

Published on 10 December 2024 | 10:27 am


How much oil can Trump pump?

The president-elect wants to be the ultimate energy baron

Published on 9 December 2024 | 6:44 pm


The hidden cost of Chinese loans

Governments that borrow from China must pay more to borrow from others

Published on 5 December 2024 | 11:12 am


Xi Jinping’s campaign against gambling is a failure

Chinese citizens go to great lengths to bet

Published on 5 December 2024 | 11:10 am


How sports gambling became ubiquitous

Europe is at the centre of the industry’s growth

Published on 5 December 2024 | 11:08 am


Cronyism is a problem. But not always an economic one

Research on the topic is surprisingly nuanced

Published on 5 December 2024 | 11:01 am


France is not alone in its fiscal woes

Deficits look worryingly wide across Europe

Published on 5 December 2024 | 10:59 am


MAGA types have a point on debanking

A booming compliance industry is causing problems

Published on 5 December 2024 | 10:57 am


How China will strike back at Trump

Xi Jinping has set out his tariff red lines. What if America crosses them?

Published on 1 December 2024 | 4:45 pm


Russia’s plunging currency spells trouble for its war effort

Supplies from China are about to become more expensive

Published on 1 December 2024 | 2:44 pm


The great-man theory of Wall Street

Why finance is still dominated by bold individuals

Published on 28 November 2024 | 11:29 am


Hong Kong’s property slump may be terminal

Demographics and geopolitics will make a recovery harder

Published on 28 November 2024 | 11:05 am


Why everyone wants to lend to weak companies

An unanticipated side-effect of Donald Trump’s election victory

Published on 28 November 2024 | 10:58 am


American veterans now receive absurdly generous benefits

An enormous rise in disability payments may complicate debt-reduction efforts

Published on 28 November 2024 | 10:57 am


Why Black Friday sales grow more annoying every year

Nobody is to blame. Everyone suffers

Published on 28 November 2024 | 10:19 am


Trump wastes no time in reigniting trade wars

Canada and Mexico look likely to suffer

Published on 26 November 2024 | 2:24 pm


How Trump, Starmer and Macron can avoid a debt crunch

With deficits soaring, their finance ministers will have to be smart

Published on 24 November 2024 | 4:25 pm


What Scott Bessent’s appointment means for the Trump administration

The president-elect’s nominee for treasury secretary faces a gruelling job

Published on 23 November 2024 | 10:56 am


What Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders get wrong about credit cards

Forget interest rates. Rewards are the real problem

Published on 21 November 2024 | 11:05 am


Computers unleashed economic growth. Will artificial intelligence?

Two years after ChatGPT-3.5 arrived, progress has been slower than expected

Published on 21 November 2024 | 11:03 am


Should investors just give up on stocks outside America?

No, but it is getting a lot harder to keep the faith

Published on 21 November 2024 | 11:01 am


Is China really a nation of slackers?

A new survey raises the question

Published on 21 November 2024 | 10:54 am


Donald Trump’s gas war is about to begin

It could annoy some of his most loyal supporters

Published on 21 November 2024 | 10:52 am


Our Big Mac index shows how burger prices differ across borders

Using patty-power parity to think about exchange rates

Published on 20 November 2024 | 11:51 am


Vladimir Putin is in a painful economic bind

Russia’s reliance on China is becoming a problem

Published on 18 November 2024 | 6:53 pm


How to make Elon Musk’s budget-slashing dreams come true

We offer some suggestions

Published on 17 November 2024 | 4:46 pm


Economists need new indicators of economic misery

Existing measures of discomfort are failing to predict elections

Published on 14 November 2024 | 10:40 am


Why financial markets are so oddly calm

Indicators of market volatility have plunged

Published on 14 November 2024 | 10:40 am


How to pay for the poor world to go green

Rich countries need not reinvent the wheel

Published on 14 November 2024 | 10:40 am


The biggest losers from Trumponomics

America’s president-elect wants to reshape trade, capital and labour flows

Published on 14 November 2024 | 10:39 am


What does America’s next treasury secretary believe?

We take a look at the leading contenders for the job

Published on 12 November 2024 | 8:42 pm


Why crypto mania is reaching new heights

Are bitcoin bros right to be so thrilled by Donald Trump’s victory?

Published on 12 November 2024 | 7:49 pm


America’s strengthening dollar will rattle the rest of the world

Donald Trump’s policies could send the greenback soaring

Published on 10 November 2024 | 3:53 pm


What betting markets got right and wrong about Trump’s victory

They might have simply been lucky, or biased

Published on 7 November 2024 | 11:50 am


Big Macs, strawberry jam and the wealth of nations

Alan Heston, a pioneer in comparing economies, died on October 25th

Published on 7 November 2024 | 11:17 am


India is undergoing an astonishing stockmarket revolution

Small investors, rejoice—and beware

Published on 7 November 2024 | 11:12 am


Barbarians on the porch

Private markets are going mainstream

Published on 7 November 2024 | 11:10 am


Sanctions are sinking Russia’s flagship gas project

Whether that lasts is up to Donald Trump

Published on 7 November 2024 | 11:09 am


The return of Trumponomics excites markets but frightens the world

It may bring stronger growth, higher inflation and a global trade war

Published on 6 November 2024 | 3:44 pm


Why investors’ “Trump trade” might be flawed

Markets are betting Trump 2.0 would boost the dollar. It could fall instead

Published on 3 November 2024 | 10:37 am


Greenland faces one of history’s great resource rushes—and curses

The territory sits on an astounding number of critical minerals

Published on 31 October 2024 | 11:30 am


Ireland’s government has an unusual problem: too much money

A tax windfall has added to already overflowing coffers

Published on 31 October 2024 | 11:22 am


American men are getting back to work

The ultra-gloomy picture painted by politicians is no longer accurate

Published on 31 October 2024 | 11:09 am


Why China needs to fill its empty homes

The country’s economy is broken. A recovery requires a healthier property market

Published on 31 October 2024 | 11:03 am


Sin taxes are suffering from a shortage of sinners

Governments across the rich world are looking for alternatives

Published on 31 October 2024 | 10:59 am


Will bond vigilantes come for America’s next president?

Treasury yields are rising ominously

Published on 30 October 2024 | 7:46 pm


Donald Trump would leave Asia with only bad options

The continent’s policymakers are too relaxed about the risks

Published on 30 October 2024 | 6:16 pm


America’s glorious economy should help Kamala Harris

Voters are starting to notice the good news just in time for the election

Published on 27 October 2024 | 3:11 pm


The economics of thinness (Ozempic edition)

Will skinny still be desirable when it is more easily achieved by the masses? 

Published on 24 October 2024 | 9:55 am


Investors should not fear a stockmarket crash

Take a long view, and shares are a lot less risky than many realise

Published on 24 October 2024 | 9:53 am


How bad are video games for your grades?

Chinese students provide an answer

Published on 24 October 2024 | 9:41 am


What the surging price of gold says about a dangerous world

Financial fears and geopolitical tremors combine to great effect

Published on 22 October 2024 | 12:29 pm


Hizbullah’s sprawling financial empire looks newly vulnerable

Why Israel is now bombing Lebanese banks

Published on 21 October 2024 | 7:10 pm


The West faces new inflation fears

Having moved in lockstep, America and Europe now have very different concerns

Published on 20 October 2024 | 11:47 am


Trump’s trillion-dollar tax cuts are spiralling out of control

His zany promises would blow up the deficit

Published on 17 October 2024 | 9:59 am


Inside the secret oil trade that funds Iran’s wars

An investigation by The Economist uncovers a multi-billion-dollar, America-defying network

Published on 17 October 2024 | 9:08 am


Germany’s economy goes from bad to worse

Things may look brighter next year, but the relief will be short-lived

Published on 15 October 2024 | 5:11 pm


An economics Nobel for work on why nations succeed and fail

Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson tackled the most important question of all

Published on 14 October 2024 | 6:39 pm


Why investors should still avoid Chinese stocks

The debate about “uninvestability” obscures something important

Published on 14 October 2024 | 5:03 pm


China’s property crisis claims more victims: companies

Unsold homes are contributing to a balance-sheet recession

Published on 10 October 2024 | 10:25 am


Europe’s green trade restrictions are infuriating poor countries

Only the poorest can expect help to cushion the blow

Published on 10 October 2024 | 10:24 am


How America learned to love tariffs

Protectionism hasn’t been this respectable for decades

Published on 10 October 2024 | 10:21 am


Why have markets grown more captivated by data releases?

Especially when the quality of statistics is deteriorating

Published on 10 October 2024 | 10:18 am


Can the world’s most influential business index be fixed?

Two cheers for the World Bank’s new global business survey

Published on 10 October 2024 | 10:13 am


Can markets reduce pollution in India?

An experiment in Gujarat yields impressive results

Published on 10 October 2024 | 9:55 am


Could war in the Gulf push oil to $100 a barrel?

Missiles are flying over a region that supplies a third of the world’s crude

Published on 7 October 2024 | 7:56 pm


How bond investors soured on France

They now regard the euro zone’s second-largest economy as riskier than Spain

Published on 6 October 2024 | 11:17 am


Can Andrea Orcel, Europe’s star banker, create a super-bank?

An interview with the boss of UniCredit

Published on 3 October 2024 | 10:02 am


Why economic warfare nearly always misses its target

There is no such thing as a strategic commodity

Published on 3 October 2024 | 10:00 am


A tonne of public debt is never made public

New research suggests governments routinely hide their borrowing

Published on 3 October 2024 | 9:59 am


Xi Jinping’s belated stimulus has reset the mood in Chinese markets

But can the buying frenzy last?

Published on 2 October 2024 | 8:21 pm


The house-price supercycle is just getting going

Why property prices could keep rising for years

Published on 1 October 2024 | 5:37 pm


Why is Canada’s economy falling behind America’s?

The country was slightly richer than Montana in 2019. Now it is just poorer than Alabama

Published on 30 September 2024 | 7:34 pm


At last, China pulls the trigger on a bold stimulus package

“Buy everything,” says an American hedge fund

Published on 27 September 2024 | 5:22 pm


Why the Federal Reserve is split on the future of interest rates

Jerome Powell began with a big cut. What comes next?

Published on 26 September 2024 | 10:13 am


A Wall Street state of mind has captured America

Downtown New York is quieter than ever. Finance has never been louder

Published on 26 September 2024 | 10:12 am


Is the world sleepwalking into another gas crisis? 

Prices could once again spike this winter

Published on 26 September 2024 | 10:11 am


How lower American interest rates will boost Africa

One of the world’s worst-named financial instruments is newly relevant

Published on 26 September 2024 | 9:41 am


Can Israel’s economy survive an all-out war with Hizbullah?

The country’s banks are experiencing capital flight

Published on 24 September 2024 | 8:14 pm


China’s central bank tries to save the economy—and the stockmarket

But it will need more help from the government

Published on 24 September 2024 | 3:19 pm


Governments are bigger than ever. They are also more useless

Why voters across the rich world are miserable

Published on 23 September 2024 | 7:18 pm


The world’s poorest countries have experienced a brutal decade

Why has development ground to a halt?

Published on 19 September 2024 | 10:11 am


European regulators are about to become more political

That will worry many in Silicon Valley

Published on 19 September 2024 | 10:05 am


What the history of money tells you about crypto’s future

The thread from shipwrecks and sheep flocks to digital currencies

Published on 19 September 2024 | 10:03 am


Why the Federal Reserve has gambled on a big interest-rate cut

The bold move carries economic and political risks

Published on 18 September 2024 | 6:07 pm


The Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts may disappoint investors

Jerome Powell could still surprise on the hawkish side

Published on 16 September 2024 | 6:32 pm


How China’s communists fell in love with privatisation

Even though they are not very good at it

Published on 15 September 2024 | 3:33 pm


Norway’s weak currency presents a mystery

The country’s economy is thriving yet the krone is becoming less and less valuable. What’s going on?

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:05 am


An American sovereign-wealth fund is a risky idea

Donald Trump’s latest proposal has worryingly broad support

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:04 am


Can bonds keep beating stocks?

After a terrible couple of months for shareholders, lenders are feeling smug

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:03 am


Why orange juice has never been more expensive

Pity those who rely on the breakfast staple

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:03 am


The IMF has a protest problem

Does it give up—or insist on painful reforms?

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:01 am


China’s government is surprisingly redistributive

That is despite a stingy tax-and-transfer system

Published on 12 September 2024 | 10:00 am


Strangely, America’s companies will soon face higher interest rates

Even though the Federal Reserve is about to loosen monetary policy

Published on 11 September 2024 | 2:43 pm


Can anything spark Europe’s economy back to life?

Mario Draghi, the continent’s unofficial chief technocrat, has a plan

Published on 9 September 2024 | 7:38 pm


Has social media broken the stockmarket?

That is the contention of Cliff Asness, one of the great quant investors

Published on 5 September 2024 | 10:13 am


American office delinquencies are shooting up

How worried should investors be?

Published on 5 September 2024 | 10:12 am


China is suffering from a crisis of confidence

Can anything perk up its economy?

Published on 5 September 2024 | 9:53 am


America has a huge deficit. Which candidate would make it worse?

Enough policies have been proposed to make a call

Published on 5 September 2024 | 9:27 am


Why Oasis fans should welcome price-gouging

There are worse things in life than paying a fair price

Published on 5 September 2024 | 9:16 am


As stock prices fall, investors prepare for an autumn chill

Markets are in a very different place from earlier in the year

Published on 4 September 2024 | 2:39 pm


Will interest-rate cuts turbocharge oil prices?

As policymakers prepare to ease policy, traders (and presidential candidates) hold their breath

Published on 2 September 2024 | 7:00 pm


Can Japan’s zombie bond market be brought back to life?

Ueda Kazuo begins on a dangerous mission

Published on 29 August 2024 | 9:59 am


The plasma trade is becoming ever-more hypocritical

Reliance on America grows, as other countries clutch their pearls

Published on 29 August 2024 | 9:50 am


Are American rents rigged by algorithms?

That is what Department of Justice prosecutors allege

Published on 29 August 2024 | 9:50 am


Inflation is down and a recession is unlikely. What went right?

A few years ago, nobody thought that a soft landing was possible

Published on 29 August 2024 | 9:50 am


How Vladimir Putin hopes to transform Russian trade

He believes the country’s future lies with China and India. What could go wrong?

Published on 28 August 2024 | 5:44 pm


Vast government debts are riskier than they appear

A provocative new paper gets central bankers talking at Jackson Hole

Published on 27 August 2024 | 6:24 pm


Jerome Powell (almost) declares victory over inflation

The Federal Reserve chairman strikes a notably doveish tone

Published on 23 August 2024 | 6:58 pm


Investors should avoid a new generation of rip-off ETFs

Some proposals may even be a risk to financial stability

Published on 22 August 2024 | 10:04 am


Why investors are not buying Europe’s revival

Even though the continent’s stocks are in a “sweet spot”

Published on 22 August 2024 | 10:03 am


America’s recession signals are flashing red. Don’t believe them

We assess a range of measures

Published on 22 August 2024 | 9:57 am


America’s anti-price-gouging laws are too minor to be communist

No matter what critics of Kamala Harris allege

Published on 22 August 2024 | 9:42 am


Why don’t women use artificial intelligence?

Even when in the same jobs, men are much more likely to turn to the tech

Published on 21 August 2024 | 2:54 pm


Kamala Harris’s cost-of-living plan will end in failure

She is the latest presidential candidate to embrace self-defeating economics

Published on 20 August 2024 | 7:33 pm


Artificial intelligence is losing hype

For some, that is proof the tech will in time succeed. Are they right?

Published on 19 August 2024 | 6:13 pm


Europe’s economic growth is extremely fragile

Risk is concentrated in one country: Germany

Published on 15 August 2024 | 10:05 am


How vulnerable is Israel to sanctions?

So far, measures have had little effect. That could change

Published on 15 August 2024 | 9:56 am


Why companies get inflation wrong

Bosses should pay less attention to the media

Published on 15 August 2024 | 9:36 am


What is behind China’s perplexing bond-market intervention?

The central bank seems to think the government’s debt is too popular

Published on 14 August 2024 | 6:19 pm


How to invest in chaotic markets

Contrary to popular wisdom, even retail investors should pay attention to volatility

Published on 13 August 2024 | 6:43 pm


Vladimir Putin spends big—and sends Russia’s economy soaring

How long can the party last?

Published on 11 August 2024 | 3:58 pm


Africa’s two most populous economies brave tough reforms 

Will Ethiopia and Nigeria be able to stick to them?

Published on 8 August 2024 | 10:04 am


Should central bankers argue in public?

Division is not always a weakness

Published on 8 August 2024 | 9:48 am


Why Warren Buffett has built a mighty cash mountain

Berkshire Hathaway’s boss is an impressive investor, not an economic oracle

Published on 8 August 2024 | 9:39 am


How Chinese shoppers downgraded their ambition

The trend will dismay the country’s policymakers

Published on 8 August 2024 | 9:37 am


A global recession is not in prospect

That will be a relief to investors everywhere

Published on 7 August 2024 | 6:28 pm


The Big Mac index: where to buy a cheap hamburger

Meat-eaters may want to avoid Argentina

Published on 7 August 2024 | 3:07 pm


The stockmarket rout may not be over

As investors pause for breath, we assess what could turn a correction into a crash

Published on 6 August 2024 | 5:48 pm


Why Japanese stocks are on a rollercoaster ride

Volatility in global markets continues 

Published on 6 August 2024 | 6:24 am


Why Japanese markets have plummeted

The global rout continues, with the Topix experiencing its worst day since 1987

Published on 5 August 2024 | 10:21 am


Why fear is sweeping markets everywhere

American and Japanese indices have taken a battering. So have banks and gold

Published on 2 August 2024 | 7:41 pm


India’s economic policy will not make it rich

A new World Bank report takes aim at emerging-market growth plans

Published on 1 August 2024 | 1:58 pm


Wanted: new business, finance and economics interns

The Economist invites applications for the 2024-25 Marjorie Deane internship

Published on 1 August 2024 | 1:02 pm


Which cities have the worst overtourism problem?

We rank popular destinations on two measures

Published on 1 August 2024 | 10:22 am


Gary Gensler is the most controversial man in American finance

Donald Trump is just the latest to take a swing. In an interview with The Economist, the SEC chair defends his record

Published on 1 August 2024 | 10:18 am


EU handouts have long been wasteful. Now they must be fixed

New research highlights their failures

Published on 1 August 2024 | 10:17 am


Investors beware: summer madness is here

This year’s hottest months are shaping up to be especially wild

Published on 1 August 2024 | 10:16 am


China’s last boomtowns show rapid growth is still possible

All it takes is for the state to work with the market

Published on 30 July 2024 | 2:09 pm


What the war on tourism gets wrong

Visitors are a boon, if managed wisely

Published on 29 July 2024 | 6:11 pm


Why investors are unwise to bet on elections

Turning a profit from political news is a lot harder than it looks

Published on 25 July 2024 | 9:55 am


Revisiting the work of Donald Harris, father of Kamala

The combative Marxist economist focused on questions related to growth

Published on 25 July 2024 | 9:54 am


Donald Trump wants a weaker dollar. What are his options?

All come with their own drawbacks

Published on 25 July 2024 | 9:41 am


Why is Xi Jinping building secret commodity stockpiles?

Vast new holdings of grain, natural gas and oil suggest trouble ahead

Published on 23 July 2024 | 6:17 pm


How Vladimir Putin created a housing bubble

Prices have risen by 172% in Russia’s biggest cities over the past three years

Published on 22 July 2024 | 3:39 pm


The rich world revolts against sky-high immigration

Moderates want to limit numbers. Radicals want mass deportations. What will be the economic consequence?

Published on 21 July 2024 | 4:04 pm


Japan’s strength produces a weak yen

Currency meddling will prove futile

Published on 18 July 2024 | 10:17 am


At last, Wall Street has something to cheer

Consumer banks, on the other hand, are starting to suffer

Published on 18 July 2024 | 10:14 am


Americans are wrong to wish for an era of stable bipartisanship

Even though political instability is an economic threat

Published on 18 July 2024 | 9:57 am


Why investors have fallen in love with small American firms

The Russell 2000 puts in a historic performance

Published on 18 July 2024 | 9:56 am


YIMBY cities show how to build homes and contain rents

But to take full advantage of deregulation, Austin and Auckland need other changes

Published on 17 July 2024 | 4:01 pm


Stocks are on an astonishing run. Yet threats lurk

We assess what could bring the bull market to an end

Published on 16 July 2024 | 6:12 pm


China’s leaders face miserable economic-growth figures

Reality intruded at the “third plenum”, intended to discuss long-term reforms

Published on 15 July 2024 | 6:49 pm


Xi Jinping really is unshakeably committed to the private sector

He balances that with being unshakeably committed to state-owned enterprises, too

Published on 11 July 2024 | 9:53 am


The dangerous rise of pension nationalism

Pursuing domestic investment at the expense of returns is reckless

Published on 11 July 2024 | 9:37 am


Europe prepares for a mighty trade war

Will it be able to stick to its rule-abiding principles?

Published on 11 July 2024 | 9:36 am


Betting markets are useful when politics is chaotic

Why, then, are they largely outlawed in America?

Published on 11 July 2024 | 9:36 am


Trumponomics would not be as bad as most expect

Opposition would come from all angles

Published on 11 July 2024 | 9:35 am


How strongmen abuse tools for fighting financial crime

They can get Western governments and banks to crack down on exiled dissidents

Published on 9 July 2024 | 3:40 pm


Why Chinese banks are now vanishing

The state is struggling to deal with troubled institutions

Published on 4 July 2024 | 11:05 am


How Starbucks caffeinates local economies

Call it the frappuccino effect

Published on 4 July 2024 | 10:33 am


How much cash should be removed from the financial system?

Undoing quantitative easing provokes fierce debate

Published on 4 July 2024 | 10:09 am


America’s banks are more exposed to a downturn than they appear

To understand why, consider the ouroboros theory of financial risk

Published on 4 July 2024 | 10:06 am


What happened to the artificial-intelligence revolution?

So far the technology has had almost no economic impact

Published on 2 July 2024 | 6:30 pm


Ukraine has a month to avoid default

Lending to a borrower at war entails an additional gamble: that it will win

Published on 30 June 2024 | 3:24 pm


The economics of the tennis v pickleball contest

Don’t hate the new players—or the new game

Published on 27 June 2024 | 10:00 am


Is coal the new gold?

The world’s dirtiest fuel is a disturbingly safe investment

Published on 27 June 2024 | 9:56 am