Laughing all the way: banks’ pandemic windfall
Pandemic panic has subsided, and economic pain deferred—so far. But never mind investment banks’ recent triumphs; uncertainty still abounds. Brazil once had a robust “no contact” policy for its isolat...
17 Jul 202022min
No school, hard knocks: developing-world students hit hard
For many of the 1.5bn pupils affected by school closures, fewer lessons just means more labour—or worse. That spells a lifetime of lost earnings, and lost childhoods. Executive pay has long been in th...
16 Jul 202023min
Eastern exposure: Russia’s telling protests
The arrest of a popular governor in the country’s far east has sparked unrest that reveals President Vladimir Putin’s waning legitimacy—and hints at repression to come. Turkey’s president has turned t...
15 Jul 202022min
Crude awakening: the Arab world after oil
Historic price fluctuations are hastening a post-oil transition that many Arab countries were already contemplating. That could foment plenty of unrest, but also some much-needed reforms. Not many Ame...
14 Jul 202019min
Binary choice: a tech cold war looms
Tensions between China and America are hastening a global technology-industry split. That is not just inefficient; it will have far-reaching geopolitical implications. Today’s scheduled federal execut...
13 Jul 202021min
Return to centre? Poland’s presidential run-off
Integration or isolation? Conservative family values or liberal ones? The knife-edge election will decide Poland’s direction for years, and will send a signal to populist leaders throughout Europe. We...
10 Jul 202021min
Centrifugal force: attacks on Iran
Another strike, evidently on a nuclear-fuel centrifuge facility, is being blamed on Israel—and, by extension, America. It is just the kind of tactic that the abandoned nuclear deal would have obviated...
9 Jul 202022min
In front, and centred: Joe Biden
The former vice-president has shifted leftward with his party, but it is his centrist tendencies that make him electable—and could permit him to effect radical change. Emmanuel Macron, France’s presid...
8 Jul 202022min
