Sep 14th 2024

How ugly will it get?

The world this week

Leaders

America’s election is mired in conflict

Donald Trump’s conspiracy machine is already gearing up for election night

Mixed message

Mario Draghi’s best ideas are those Europe finds least comfortable

The danger is that it picks the easy ones

The dangers of rock claiming

More storms are brewing in the South China Sea

A dangerous new stage in the conflict is beginning

Corporate crusade

How to finish Japan’s business revolution

Tokyo-listed companies have become more friendly to shareholders, but the job is only half-done

Subsidise people, not petrol

Nigeria’s catastrophic fuel crisis has a straightforward solution

How to scrap a popular yet ruinous subsidy

Letters

On Iranian hostages, handwriting, underground cables, love, Kamala Harris, artificial intelligence, gobbledygook

Letters to the editor

By Invitation

Euro-vision

Mario Draghi outlines his plan to make Europe more competitive

Landmines in Ukraine

Clearing Ukraine’s mines is crucial for global food security, say Howard Buffett and Tony Blair

Briefing

A foregone confusion

What will happen if America’s election result is contested?

The system is now stronger, but so is public mistrust of it

Asia

Superpower tensions in Asia

The scary new map of the South China Sea

India v Bangladesh

Can India’s garments industry benefit from Bangladesh’s turmoil?

Machh ado about nothing

What ilish, a fish, says about India-Bangladesh relations

Of scams and syndicates

The downfall of a Philippine mayor may be linked to Chinese gangs

Corporate dynasties

Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of Kakao, faces trial

Banyan

Youngsters are fleeing Japan’s once-mighty civil service

China

Stability, now what?

Can Xi Jinping take Hong Kong “from stability to prosperity”?

Leading the way

China is beating America in the nuclear-energy race

We’re keeping them

Why China banned international adoptions

United States

Wicked safe

How Boston became the safest big city in America

TikTok, tarot and Trump

Astrologers are predicting the result of America’s election

Trouble in Paradise Valley

Democratic control of the Senate depends on a seven-fingered farmer

Campaign calculus

The systemic bias Kamala Harris must overcome in order to win

New term, same balancing act

America’s college heads revise rules for handling campus protests

Lexington

Kamala Harris makes Donald Trump look out of his depth

Middle East & Africa

Falling apart

Is Syria’s drug-dealing dictator coming in from the cold?

Not wanted here

Turkey is trying to deport Syrian refugees back to a war zone

The Philadelphi story

A narrow corridor in Gaza has become an obstacle to a ceasefire

No petrol, no peace

If Nigeria cannot end fuel shortages, disaster beckons

Markets amid madness

How trading in war-torn Sudan survives—just

The Americas

Dark days

Venezuela’s opposition is getting smashed

No quick fix

Antony Blinken swoops into a violent hotspot close to home

Blue gold

The sweet story of Peru’s blueberry boom

Europe

Dirty sponges

Squeaky-clean Europe is more corrupt than you think

French politics

Michel Barnier’s burden

A bloody trade

Danger in Donbas as Ukraine’s front line falters

Choice v life

Poland’s ruling coalition divides over women’s rights

No ball

A northern Italian town bans cricket

Charlemagne

Nice ideas, Mr Draghi—now who will pay for them?

Britain

Brotherly love

The harmony between Labour and Britain’s trade unions

In deep trouble

Britain’s submarines are at sea for too long—or not at all

Driven up the wall

Finding a driving test in Britain is painful, slow and expensive

Laundry list

Will Labour be better at tackling dirty money than the Tories?

Keeping the juices flowing

Volunteering has big benefits for the elderly

Urban planning

Why have Britain’s new towns become fashionable again?

Bagehot

Loons and the Tory leadership battle in Britain

International

The toil, tears and sweat of competition

Sport is getting hotter, harder and deadlier

Business

Mergers and inquisitions

Is the era of the mega-deal over?

Job half done

Japan’s sleepy companies still need more reform

Not edgy enough

AI will not fix Apple’s sluggish iPhone sales any time soon

Snapped up

Demand for high-end cameras is soaring

Raining cats and dogs

People are splurging like never before on their pets

Falling behind

European firms are smaller and less profitable than American ones

The ties that bind

Why family empires dominate business in India

Bartleby

Physical proximity has big effects in the workplace

Schumpeter

Intel is on life support. Can anything save it?

Finance & economics

The 72-year-old patient

Can anything spark Europe’s economy back to life?

Foreign-exchange markets

Norway’s weak currency presents a mystery

Delayed reaction

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

Buttonwood

Can bonds keep beating stocks?

Xi, the generous

China’s government is surprisingly redistributive

Long, hot summer

The IMF has a protest problem

The big squeeze

Why orange juice has never been more expensive

Free exchange

An American sovereign-wealth fund is a risky idea

Science & technology

The motherlode

Breast milk’s benefits are not limited to babies

White gold

Baby formulas now share some ingredients with breast milk

Tests of time

The world’s first nuclear clock is on the horizon

Radiation-belt remediation

Particles that damage satellites can be flushed out of orbit

Culture

Can you tell the truth?

The information wars are about to get worse, Yuval Noah Harari argues

A secret love affair

Why many French have come to like “Emily in Paris”

Off colour?

Paul Gauguin is an artist ripe for cancellation

The CIA’s Rip van Winkle

The riveting story of the longest-held American prisoner-of-war

Back Story

“The Perfect Couple” and the new map of Moneyland

It’s an ink-stained world

Tabloids are about more than trashy headlines

The Economist reads

The Economist reads

How Christianity shapes politics in America

Economic & financial indicators

Indicators

Economic data, commodities and markets

Obituary

Samba plus sunshine