Linkeum

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

A summer of splits shows what post-Trump conservatism will look like

Also on the daily podcast: Austria’s accidental chancellor and North Korea’s beach resort

Food and clothing prices rose more quickly while fuel fell only slightly, boosting the overall rate of inflation.

The interest rate set by the Bank of England affects mortgage, loan and savings rates for millions.

The race for broad adoption is just as important as the one for artificial general intelligence

Chancellor tells the financial industry to change the narrative around consumer investment to encourage growth.

Attendees of Mansion House dinner say UK chancellor needs to go further with anti-regulation, pro-risk stance

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

UK Inflation has fallen from record highs but remains above the Bank of England's 2% target.

It says the president is making hard choices and reshaping Kenya’s future through bold, necessary reforms

Only China and Canada have retaliated against US president’s tariff war

Hg spent two decades taking Visma to the brink of London’s biggest tech IPO in years. Can it repeat the trick with bigger, newer funds?

India has done brilliantly by balancing America, China and Russia. Can that last?

If Congress approves, the cuts would save less than Americans think—and risk countless lives

Tensions are high ahead of a big summit next week

Patrick Lane, our senior digital editor, on the finance minister’s speech at Mansion House

A new form of capitalism may explain its success

Pricey visas might scupper its chances

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, how linguistic differences can lead to misunderstandings—or smooth diplomacy—between the two powers

Television, TikTok and travel are to blame

Energy and housing costs were the major drivers of inflation, but consumers are starting to feel the impact of tariffs on basic goods.

Why dressing up is now an essential part of the live music experience

Also on the daily podcast: perfume oligopoly and the bilingual brain

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Ola Källenius on how to fix the problems under the continent’s bonnet

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

America will supply air-defence missiles and may punish countries that trade with Russia

A dictator, then a democratic president, he died on July 13th, aged 82

The rise of ChatGPT and its rivals is undermining the economic bargain of the internet

People move to the sunbelt for affordable homes. But it is getting harder to build there 

Ahead of the Upper House elections, bond markets shudder

Oversize tumblers reveal more about fashion than wellness

In this Americast episode, Anthony Zurcher, BBC's North America correspondent, discusses how Trump may start to feel pressure from his own supporters if prices continue to rise at home.

We’re looking for writers to cover politics and public policy

Also on the daily podcast: Celebrity brands and secrets of a sea slug

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Chris Wright argues that most green energy policies bring only exclusion and scarcity

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Andrew Bailey tells the Times he believes "the path is downward" on interest rates.

The US is accusing its southern neighbour of breaking a long-held water sharing agreement.

Politicians are warming to the idea

Heat, drone attacks and recruitment drives are shrinking harvests

The Shia militias that Iran used as proxies sat out the war with Israel and America 

A journey into Syria’s deep state

Repeatedly borrowing more is not a long-term solution to rising day-to-day spending pressures.

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, will a massive budget increase at the Department of Homeland Security allow Trump to carry out his mass deportation plans?

They have few friends, but powerful lawyers

The president of football’s governing body is close to Donald Trump

The nationalisation of politics finally comes for America’s least-populous state

The performance-enhancing drug is legal, safe—and may have benefits beyond sport

Also on the daily podcast: our investigation into Austin Tice’s disappearance and a tribute to Jimmy Swaggart

The economy contracted in May for the second month in a row, adding to pressure on the chancellor.

“Socialist ideals always emerge when income inequality is on the rise”

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

This week’s selections will transport you to Provence, Tijuana and hell

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has shelved plans to alter Isa rules, but what are they and how do they work?

Omer Shem Tov was kidnapped on October 7th. He survived by becoming his captors’ cook

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, why the investors of Silicon Valley want to keep hold of startups for longer

America’s most popular hellfire preacher of the 1980s died on July 1st, aged 90

The Puerto Rican rapper has millions of fans beyond the Hispanophone world

Economics is a useful tool for understanding conflict, as a new book shows

Mental illnesses that do not respond to standard treatment could be hormone-driven

Found in fossils many millions of years old, they could help scientists study long-extinct species

America’s bosses are sharpening their axes

It is beset by fragmentation, overregulation and underinvestment

The AI superstar faces competition and an over-reliance on big tech

What could possibly go wrong?

The prospects of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia are weakening Russia’s influence

Xu Zewei was arrested in Milan on July 3rd

His vision for the country remains thankfully unrealised

Can provincial DOGE-ing help them avoid it?

The British food less so

What is the point of the country’s sponsorship deal with AC Milan?

In South Africa, contract murders are spreading from gangland into wider society

If there is another ceasefire in Gaza, it may not be able to regroup as before

Just about everything

Professional gamblers get beaten by the odds

A dispatch from the elevator bank of the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza

Building walls, one brick at a time

The NATO member is reconsidering its defences in the age of Trump

The idea of renting prisons may be catching on

Christian Stocker hopes competence will restore the centre-right’s popularity

Apart from Poland, central Europe’s Visegrad Four face a slowdown

Also a political adviser and Labour peer, he led the fullest of lives

Thank Brexit and stagnant wages

Liz Truss is, still, partly to thank. Labour hasn’t helped either

A cherished pension policy poses a hefty fiscal risk

What should replace it?

Also this week, imprisonment in Myanmar, the value of college degrees, getting lost in India

The kingdom is stagnating while its elites squabble

If they can be liberated from ignorance and hucksterism

The government is to become the biggest shareholder in the US's only operational rare earths mine.

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

They have won a respite from China, but face growing pressures in America

The country’s elites won’t like it

Rich countries need to separate asylum from labour migration

Workers and assets are on sale to the rest of the world for bargain-basement prices

Also on the daily podcast: the rise of superstar coders and a free London performance puts a spotlight on modern fame

The battle to reduce risk has shaped centuries of ventures

Around the world, marketmakers now face extra scrutiny

Will old folk catch the bug?

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

His administration cannot shake rumours of a cover-up—in part because MAGA types enthusiastically endorsed it

The top position at Elon Musk’s social-media platform is open once again

DOGE may not have been to blame but local politicians have a case to answer

Markets are supposed to look forward; plenty of investors look back instead

Their economic impact has been delayed but not averted

Its appearance puts a new branch of astronomy to the test

The nerd:jock ratio in government is askew

The generals would be mad to try

Our podcast on science and technology. Scientists can design and make novel proteins. One day they may even be able to build entire genomes

Our analysis of what it has cost both sides

What hope for the rest of Britain?

Congress is bulldozing environmental laws. Marina Silva wants to stop it

Should a man who can do anything choose to do nothing?

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: Brazil’s broken football machine and England falls out of love with its lawns

The key will be to develop technologies at prices attractive to China and India

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

The boss of the CBI says he would support cutting the allowance on cash ISAs to encourage more people to invest in shares.

A world carved up between Presidents Trump, Xi and Putin would be unstable and unsafe

The idea of the body count evolves

To appease the world’s biggest market, countries must anger the world’s biggest trader

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, we examine the role Chinese weapons played in the recent India-Pakistan conflict—and what it means for the future of warfare

What a meeting with five leaders says about his administration’s interest in the continent

An abandoned son, scorned lovers and dazzling, manipulative prose

A legion of new health clinics are serving it up

Also on the daily podcast: gangs infiltrate Latin America’s mining operations and the quaint utility of the Shipping Forecast

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

His decision to resume arms shipments is a victory for common sense—while it lasts

Donald Trump issues threats—and grants deadline extensions

What the controversial agency will do with even more funding

Our analysis suggests it depends on what sort of culture bosses want

Some contemplate suicide. Others vaunt their folly as influencers 

The trial, with a plot stranger than detective fiction, has gripped the country

A mixture of geography, catastrophic rainfall and a lack of preparedness

We’re looking for a fluent speaker of Korean and English

Human relations are a useful way to think about brands

In search of “clutch power” at the world’s largest toymaker

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Young people and city-dwellers are among those most likely to see one group’s gain as another’s loss

Also on the daily podcast: China embraces sobriety and remembering health activist John Robbins

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Donald Trump and Israel’s generals are pressing Binyamin Netanyahu to make a deal

Trump's 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs plan is about to expire. But already some firms are radically changing how they work.

We analysed 52,792 social-media posts to find out

Jiangsu’s party cadres find success with a bizarre idea

It is astonishingly dynamic, even under the weight of tariffs

As Trump starves it of arms, there is turmoil inside the government

A deal would counter China and please America. It requires deft diplomacy on the Falklands

Restrictions to most traffic, except buses and push bikes, were introduced in 2017 after a cyclist died there.

A report by MPs says the product needs to be reformed and many savers who have been in touch tend to agree.

After death comes life

President Trump's budget bill will add to the US debt pile but is there a limit to how much the rest of the world will lend Uncle Sam?

His League of Social Democrats, the territory’s last pro-democracy party, disbanded this week

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we look at the “One Big, Beautiful Bill act” and how it will affect President Trump’s supporters.

Studies show that thimerosal does more good than harm

The stablecoin is fuelling a global shadow economy. And it’s never been more respectable

Artists are entitled to share their views. Doing so is not always noble or wise

Stories of tennis players, chefs and rock stars

A royal welcome for a republican president

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: the future of Bangladesh and Ferrari races ahead

The Bank of England wants views on themes for its next series of banknotes, and BBC readers are full of ideas.

As President Trump weighs tariff plans, he will have one eye on the US economy.

The cost of UK government borrowing falls and the pound rallies as the PM says he works "in lockstep" with Rachel Reeves.

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, how Salim Ramji plans to change Vanguard

Hiring in the US defied expectations with 147,000 jobs added last month, official figures show.

From housing to health care, the answer is to treat “cost disease”, says Jake Auchincloss

The campaigner for healthier living who spurned a fortune died on June 11th, aged 77

They are much more popular today than their Britpop peers

A new book traces the wartime relationship between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin

Why fluffy, glossy K-dramas tempt North Koreans to brave the firing squad

The Amazon founder’s semi-retirement plan

The rise of luxury fruit

Stars are using their fame to build thriving businesses

The Kremlin dominates the cross-border business of nuclear fuel and technology

Our new number-crunching on reading banned books

A long campaign against dissent crushes a final few democrats

Local officials wrestle with competing incentives

But countries know their neighbour is a crucial partner

The hermit kingdom’s new resort is for its own enjoyment, not foreigners’

And conservatives forces are circling her populist movement

Its tactics move from sea to land

But they can’t avoid the summer heat—and their disgruntled compatriots

Mark Carney is hoping it does not lead to more demands

Peace deals may be elusive, and Gulf states fear the war is far from over

Donald Trump says they missed an existential threat from Iran. Why should anyone trust their findings now?

William Ruto’s tenure is a how-to guide for sowing cynicism about democracy

But today transnational political Shiism is struggling for its survival

Making peace with the Palestinians looks much harder than with Iran’s regime or Shias in Lebanon

The Trump administration has taken aim at the University of Virginia

But renewed war with Iran would put the honeymoon with Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the test

Could the sporting ban precede a political one?

And mosquitos are a growing problem too

Enforcement of EU law has become an afterthought

The president is using emergency cases to expand his power

A land of long holidays, cool homes and tree-lined streets awaits

But it carries costs for the rule of law

Not just a London effect

Though it is increasingly redundant at sea

Heavy-handed use of anti-terror laws may amplify provocateurs

Elizabeth MacDonough does more to shape legislation than most congressmen

Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and Ryan Reynolds are among a new cohort of celebrity entrepreneurs

Also this week, illegal drugs, “Jaws”, social media and Christianity, inverted commas

The president’s authoritarian instincts are propelling a spiral of violence

It will change the online economy and the evolution of artificial intelligence

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put Brazil on the map, but he hasn’t adapted to a changed world

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Because the state makes it impossible not to be

Airstrikes and sanctions leave the country poor. They do little to halt its nuclear development

Pity the firm’s rivals

Trump insists that the new bill will save the US billions, but it has been criticised by his old ally Elon Musk.

The Big Beautiful Bill is symptomatic of a wider malaise

Vietnam is the latest country to secure concessions

Also on the daily podcast: the Dalai Lama’s future and the fancy-fruit frenzy

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Introducing a set of targets that resonate with voters

Blame poor preparation and a habit of picking the wrong fights

By its own yardstick the government has squandered its first year in office

Coercion and corporate expedience meet in a $16m settlement

As well as his hope of achieving much in office

It may reflect dwindling stocks but Ukraine thinks it is being pushed to make political concessions

Even when a protectionist system is dismantled, its problems can endure

Republicans mark America’s birthday with a profligate but insubstantial law

They could treat diseases, test drugs and boost crop yields

The tools developed along the way could revolutionise medicine

Our podcast on science and technology. This week, the second of two episodes behind the scenes at the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile

Their slimy shenanigans might have applications for humans, too

SPACs are back in favour

Celebrities have been in the business of recommending books for nearly a century

But will it thrive in the electric age?

The president is a defender of multilateral institutions, including on international trade

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: foreign fighters in Ukraine and unclogging New York City

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

The story behind the catchy political slogan much loved by US President Donald Trump

Talk of “white genocide” is baseless. But some American pressure could be helpful

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, for the return of our film club, we analyse three adaptations of “Journey to the West”, better known as “The Monkey King”

The overhaul of taxation and spending spells trouble for America

The Biden administration added to the problem. Now the “Big, Beautiful Bill” could help solve it

For a few AI whizzes, pay is going ballistic

Copyright lawyers debate the transformative power of passing gas

They could change its internet for good and turbocharge AI efforts

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: how LifeWise teaches Christianity and butter yellow

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Amid festivals and flowers the capital is far from the war

New York’s mayoral front-runner thinks so

In films from “Mission Impossible” to “M3GAN 2.0”, AI is the bad guy

Unfortunately for China’s leader, his own policies are often to blame for them

The best entrepreneurs ask themselves a particular question

To install a loyalist, Donald Trump will have to overcome barriers in the courts, in Congress and in markets

AI-powered robots are building homes at Dutch construction sites

Also on the daily podcast: Meta’s AI hiring spree and the manosphere

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put Brazil on the map, but he hasn’t adapted to a changed world

Across the rich world, governments are splashing the cash. What could go wrong?

Choked for funds, the Bureau of Labour Statistics is cutting corners

The truce signed by Congo and Rwanda leaves out some important details

What happens to America’s fight for equality if the traditional Black church disappears?

The Supreme Court curtails judges’ ability to block the president’s agenda

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, the United States helped to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. But how firm is it? And how stable are the leaders in Tel Aviv a

The young socialist could exemplify the sort of leader the Democrats need. He also offers Republicans an easy target

Perhaps. Learning languages offers other, more concrete benefits

Enjoy these titles with strawberries and a glass of Pimms

Also on the daily podcast: the imperturbability of global markets and our “Archive 1945” project looks back on the UN’s founding

Great records that have been mislaid and rediscovered

Stories of restaurants and robots

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Republican support for same-sex marriage is dropping fast

The regime has a long history of cutting access to the internet

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, is the job of the advertising creative about to be fully automated?

NATO’s front line needs more money, says Gundbert Scherf, but just as important is smarter technology

The first female president of Nicaragua died on June 14th, aged 95

Will it rev up new fans for the motorsport?

He was the 20th century’s most influential journalist

Across the rich world politics is driving scepticism 

Corning’s boss is a corporate stalwart with a passion for glass

Trustbusters have been poking their noses into it

The self-styled reinvention powerhouse faces its toughest job yet—remaking itself

Suppliers, once far more profitable than auto firms, are struggling

Local police have found a perverse way to raise money

Its ranks will swell as the country’s high-tech industries grow

Sweden is banning OnlyFans content as the lines around sex work blur

Inventive schemes help women dodge inflexible marriage laws

As she turns 80, Myanmar’s jailed leader still has much support

Suriname’s squad is becoming less dire

Gustavo Petro wants to save his legacy

The government is failing to protect them

Gold is now better business than drugs for many gangs

Where people once died in air strikes, now they are dying as they try to find food

Basketball is only the beginning

Peace in his time

Will the biggest foreign-policy gamble of his presidency pay off?

Congress is taking aim at a gimmick vital to rural health providers

A seeming vanity investment is in fact a market-beating asset class

Andrej Babis looks set to return as prime minister in the autumn

It is ahead of Russia, for now

It is not without risks

But probably not reverse it

Soft-power Europe is often bested by hard-nosed autocrats

Meadows v mowers

Some on the political right are pushing for a ban

Lessons from one of the country’s most successful industrial clusters

Wealthy people are often accused of crying wolf. This time feels different

Industrial capacity in peacetime is no longer necessary for success during war

Also this week, Ireland’s tax regime, deep-sea mining, cyclists, opera, Britain’s political class