Linkeum

Six charts show the damage to America, its trading partners and its consumers

A big squeeze on profits may be coming

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, a look at the evolving landscape of nuclear weapons. China is building its arsenal while the United States and Russia appear ready to le

There are simpler ways to get smoother skin and stronger joints

The harm from tariffs will be lasting and deep

Ukraine can be the forward operating laboratory for Europe’s own future air security

Our choices examine realism on screen

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: gaming out the economics of an AI-superintelligence era and a tribute to Tom Lehrer

A botched attempt by the government to rein them in has badly backfired

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, Dario Amodei on why safety sells and how to value people in a world without work

A journalist goes out to bat for the five-day format

America’s best modern satirist died on July 26th, aged 97

An exquisite Italian iteration proves that even simple dishes can be sublime

A new biography describes the businessman and imperialist behind the global protest movement

But international regulation and precarious funding threaten their efforts

“Zero Day Attack”, a TV series, is terrifying audiences in Taiwan

Winners of a design competition include conjoined Ferris wheels and a 58km-long cylinder

Sanrio is becoming a powerhouse of licensing intellectual property

A technological revolution meets a financial one

An industry that has run on government money faces a reckoning

Companies are caught in a race to the bottom

New research shows it is being used for good and ill

The government is stingy and timid when it comes to retirement benefits

The country is increasingly divided

Civil war need not be an insurmountable obstacle

After five days, 40 people are dead. But few know what caused the skirmish

The chair of the Democratic Alliance has a lot to say—and a lot to do

It has become an international pariah without vanquishing Hamas

But the Democrats’ response is self-defeating

The musician and playwright died on July 26th, aged 69

Could factory-made units ease America’s housing shortage, too?

A growing group that is changing society

Sixteen years after an earthquake, L’Aquila has yet to shake off the damage

Thierry Burkhard, the Forces Armées’ departing chief, says Europe has work to do

If the party cannot be banned, perhaps its civil servants can be

Victory in the European Championship is a rare moment of national joy

But the men seem to benefit more

Torness is closing in on its 40th birthday

No. But that might not be the point

Despite signs of American misgivings

Also this week, Chris Wright, academic pay, UAE foreign policy, cameras, ice cream, brand manipulation

The ban on sales to China was working, and should be kept in place

Pedro Sánchez needs to let his country’s democracy renew itself

That will involve a wholesale rethink of the Nagoya protocol

Oil and terrorism are not the country’s only exports

To win voters’ consent, policymakers must offer pragmatism and hope

Europe’s hard right is pushing the continent’s climate consensus hard. The response so far is tepid

The bloc opts for prudence over defiance

A mighty rise in electricity costs has complicated the drive for clean power

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Hear no science, see no science, speak no science

A not-quite-total eclipse of the solar

Private equity is enjoying a renaissance in an unlikely place

Why bankers no longer play golf at 3pm

The overbearing role of the state has never been challenged

Unless Bangladesh and Sri Lanka strike a deal with Donald Trump

Domestic demand is surging. And Indian generics could make slimming cheaper worldwide

Also on the daily podcast: the risks North Koreans take to watch TV from the South and our Big Mac index provides a trade-war take

He has placed sanctions on the judge leading the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his ideological ally

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

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

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

But support for a cut may be widening, as debates rage about how tariffs will affect the US economy.

A hawkish tilt changes rate-cut expectations

Internal reform matters more than external trade

A divided Federal Reserve has defied pressure from US President Donald Trump to lower the rates.

Sir Keir Starmer defined himself against Labour’s preoccupation with Palestine. It now defines him

Under pressure, America’s oldest university may make a deal

Trump’s U-turn on chip-export controls could be a boon

Our podcast on science and technology. The third episode of our four-part series on the past, present and future of nuclear weapons

His diminishing power makes the country’s future increasingly uncertain

Beyond the WWE, liberals grapple with a MAGA bastion

Even a policy of “drill, baby, drill” would imply more climate research, not its evisceration, says Ralph Keeling

They could even set it back

The phenomenon could be harnessed to boost immunotherapy

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: what is behind India’s private-jet boom and the migration of Hong Kong’s fusion cafes

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

Young people are among those suggesting new themes for the biggest change to banknotes in 50 years.

Businesses once trumpeted their climate goals. Now they are quietly plugging away

America has better technology. But will China adopt it more quickly?

The “First Lady of Jazz” died on July 24th, aged 97

A new dam should ease the Panama Canal’s water woes. Those against it don’t have a chance

Vast waves of drones are overwhelming Ukraine’s air defences

Matthew Holehouse, our British political correspondent, on what Jeremy Corbyn’s new party means for British politics

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, journalist Emily Feng on what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping’s China

Blame apps and DORKs, not stimmies

Union Pacific agrees to buy Norfolk Southern, establishing a $250bn colossus with 50,000 miles of track.

Summer fetes show there is still hope for the English village

South African leftists dream of telling the West to get lost

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

No other region is as appealing to both America and China

Also on the daily podcast: the culture war surrounding Japan’s surnames law and how Bad Bunny topped the global charts

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

Some brawl in public while others pursue cross-party deals

As data centres get more energy-hungry, the hyperscalers get more creative

The administration hopes to undo perverse incentives

Hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli gunfire and in crushes while trying to collect food

A guide to four special articles from our home for narrative journalism

They are currently in disarray. Hoping that his government fails is their main strategy

A much-imitated style, celebrity fans and a life-turned-myth all help

Abiy Ahmed is making progress on economic reforms and rooting out corruption, it says

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: a breakout chance for England’s Midlands and a tribute to the world’s (probably) oldest marathon runner

The current first-past-the-post system needs changing, they said

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

A deal with America chooses certain tariffs over risky retaliation

Stephen Whiting, the general in charge, offers a glimpse of the near future

Foreign companies are sharing the load. For now

Investors are starting to call for the luxury conglomerate to break itself apart

Shaken by a corruption scandal, Spain’s prime minister is at the mercy of events and of his fickle allies

Bird in the cage

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we explore a wide range of topics as we delve into our mailbag

Others with a stake in Ukraine’s security and relations with Russia must stay engaged too, argues the Nobel Peace Prize winner

They’re good drone-killers

His diplomats hope it will make peace more likely. America and Israel say it emboldens Hamas

Treatment is improving, even for the most dangerous

The nationalist ideologue shapes the Russian president’s version of history

The move comes after the IMF suggested the change would reduce pressure for "overly-frequent changes to policy".

Our choices show how power is wielded and abused

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: a rapprochement of necessity for Britain and Argentina and the rise and rise of women’s sports

Supermarkets sold more drinks and fuel sales were up as people "ventured out", the UK statistics body says.

Our polling shows a majority would like the church to change with the times

Modern warfare at ancient temples

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, is TSMC the most dangerous chokepoint in the global economy?

Its ruling that burning fossil fuels can be “internationally wrongful” risks provoking a backlash

Two new books look at the heyday of Vanity Fair, Vogue and their ilk

The conservative Babylon Bee is finding it easier than the Onion

A tech bro created a viral reservation-trading website. The industry wants to shut it down

A rumoured merger may be scuppered by Indonesia’s government

A tie-up between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern would be messy but powerful

Although many of their investments have a commercial logic, the result looks increasingly unwieldy

But it has only delayed the coming plunge

American funding cuts are a catalyst for fresh thinking

Or so the government hopes

China will approve their sale. But there’s a huge catch

But they are not quite the havens its elites had in mind

The takhi has never been tamed

Amid monetary mayhem in Venezuela digital finance is booming and may threaten the regime

MAGA bullying is backfiring, boosting Lula’s government

Its generals think the war against Hamas has become pointless, but a ceasefire remains elusive

It may also cement Rwanda’s hold over its neighbour

The West has all but given up on it

The presidents of both countries have limited time to rein in vicious militias

One in five people in New Mexico receive the benefit

The Epstein uproar has revealed an unexpected danger—for the president—of a Justice Department that seems partisan

Fed up with the traditional joints, these businesswomen are shooting their shot

While temperature changes threaten the coffee belt, some countries sense opportunity 

But what if people give up their sinful ways?

They are both suspicious of Israeli aims in the region

Crime has become more complex. The police have not kept up

But France lacks the means to pay for much of it

Our survey finds that Britons are pessimistic about the country’s cohesion

The police are better; the politicians are worse

Also this week, artificial intelligence and consulting, the British and hot weather, conference panels

A deal with the Kurds is welcome. Erdogan’s authoritarianism is not

It no longer has a military justification

Also on the daily podcast: London’s electric bikes plug transport gaps and a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

E-rickshaws are overrunning Bangladeshi cities

In oligarchic aviation China has just fallen behind India

The world’s oldest marathon runner died on July 14th, probably aged 114

Hegemons should care about even puny countries

A fierce battle is under way in China

With the right rules, innovation could flourish

If Silicon Valley’s predictions are even close to being accurate, expect unprecedented upheaval

Markets for goods, services and financial assets, as well as labour, would be upended

They have ideas about how to restrain wayward models, but worry that doing so will disadvantage them

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

Data shows a slump in car and van production as the industry trade body hopes a UK-US tariff deal will bring "confidence".

South Africa’s government blockaded hundreds underground. The results were deadly

Thirty million Indians want a job on the railways, but a fiendish general-knowledge test stands in their way

How Anthropic’s missionary zeal is fuelling its commercial success

Our podcast on science and technology. The second episode of our four-part series on the past, present and future of nuclear weapons

The LIBOR saga reflects badly on the courts

Here are five of the best tracks by heavy metal’s “prince of darkness” 

To maintain the bombs, and build new ones, scientists are pushing the frontiers of physics

The more useful stablecoins and tokens prove to be, the greater the risk

A new model is finding connections spanning the Roman world

There are advantages to the old-fashioned working day

A new law jeopardises Ukraine’s progress against corruption—and erodes the Western support it needs

That will benefit not only bona fide refugees but countries receiving numbers of economic migrants

Introducing “The Bomb”, our new four-part podcast series on the past, present and future of America’s nuclear stockpile

Compromise rarely leads to contentment. But it nearly always leads to costs

Chances are you have come across a “Strix” cushion or a “Rinnig” tea towel

The system is worth defending, argues Eric Fripp

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: what is taking a bite out of Big Food and politics invades the pitch for Germany’s lawmakers

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

America is sick of policing the world. More nuclear-armed states will not help

President Zelensky tightens his control 

What happens when a president sues a press baron?

Matthew Holehouse, our British political correspondent, asks what might happen if Britain made voting compulsory

This year’s apparent lull may be the calm before another storm

Our analysis shows that some carriers have started charging more for solo travellers

Our weekly podcast on China. This week, why the country needs to get better at end-of-life care

Their main union has become a platform for activists’ causes

A big increase in debt interest payments meant government borrowing was higher than expected last month.

America’s cooling labour market is bad news for those who move about

These days you can find Canto-Western food in several countries

The monthly cost of renting rose just as fast as mortgage increases over the last three years, figures show.

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: whether AI is making humans dumber and an American obsession with testosterone injections

The state borrows to fund day-to-day spending as well as long-term infrastructure projects.

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

The cost of replacing ageing ICBMs is soaring as a new arms race looms

Having conquered carmaking, Xiaomi now has its sights set on world domination

Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, examines the blind spots of the intelligence services

An overdue overhaul of an unloved industry

New political forces are gaining ground

Also on the daily podcast: Iceland considers raising an army and how working from home affects company culture

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

There are many problems with the present arrangements

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

Recent attacks in the Red Sea show how feeble Europe is

His leadership is entering a new but no less powerful stage

Yes. How badly will become clear in the next crisis

Experts have questioned Rachel Reeves' plan to encourage investors with a campaign in the style of "Tell Sid".

Lost in Syria

The energetic leader is tapping into young people’s frustration and shaking up the country’s politics

They should try being efficient and effective first

Our annual ranking compares economies in three different ways

A vast right-wing conspiracy comes for the president

The college drop-out fighting to preserve Donald Trump’s youth vote

Our weekly podcast on democracy in America. This week, we examine whether Donald Trump will damage the resoundingly resilient economy.

For a healthy microbiome, eating your greens is a surer bet

Really out-of-the-way places can slip through the financial-reporting cracks

Our picks ask why people believe in religion, ideology or conspiracy theories 

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: the first “climate visas” and remembering agronomist Simon Groot

How a decades-long deception saw an innocent man end up in jail

Our polling shows why it is so hard to set alcohol limits 

Our podcast on markets, the economy and business. This week, lessons for the West on how to re-arm without re-industrialising

The seedsman from Enkhuizen died on July 6th, aged 90

For decades the country’s officials turned international adoption into a money-making racket

Kits encode all sorts of information, Joey D’Urso argues

It is not just vinyl. Film cameras and print publications are trendy again, too

Three new books look at the blind spots of the intelligence services

The AI-talent scramble raises an old question

Nvidia’s boss is proving to be a canny diplomat

The industry is grappling with slowing demand, rising competition and new regulations

Challenging China’s dominance will be a tall order

Duties on the red metal will undermine the president’s wider economic agenda

How long can they continue to do so?

Outrage mounts over a tryst between a Chinese student and a Ukrainian gamer

Why female athletes need to leave the men behind

There is more to Singapore’s sister city than a stroll down memory lane

Penny Wong speaks with The Economist

Jovenel Moïse was gunned down in his bedroom four years ago

Rotting seaweed is stinking up Caribbean beaches

The populist party has made unconditional cash transfers central to its rule. That creates weaknesses

The fruits of promising reforms are under threat from waste, graft and conflict

The lack of response illustrates how difficult it is to stop them by force

And why that is his greatest strength

Gazans keep dying at the centres. Israel says they are working as intended

Researchers estimate the Big Beautiful Bill could result in 42,500 excess deaths a year

Alarmed voters worry it will limit their tradition of direct democracy

For many locals it is straining water supplies

Atonement for the Holocaust has sometimes become unquestioning support for Israel

Russia is grinding ahead but paying an excruciating price

Start with a proper look at what caused the problem

The two countries hope it will alleviate a set of mutual ailments 

They have failed to focus on efficiency for the mass market

Also this week, prediction markets, the Democrats, Wimbledon, the Shipping Forecast, bed-ins, sex work

Artificial intelligence has undermined the internet’s central bargain

A data breach, a gag order, a stampede to duck responsibility

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

Also on the daily podcast: China’s amateur footballers and the politics of Superman

It has a China-size population with a UAE-size room supply

And there are more improvements to come

Progress has been remarkable. Death rates are down substantially, and are likely to fall further

Businesses are ignoring the street of hundred-dollar bills

At least farming subsidies are getting cut down to size

Which countries would be hit hardest by levies on electronics and pharmaceuticals?

At a time of high interest rates, there are bargains to be found

Growth has held up astonishingly, given geopolitics. But it can’t last for ever

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

Violence against Druze in Syria prompts intervention by its powerful neighbour

Our podcast on science and technology. The first episode of our four-part series on the past, present and future of nuclear weapons

A rotten episode over Afghan refugees implicates much of the British state

The Trump administration will take any help it can get

New clues suggest Indian errors and Chinese arms may both be to blame

Experiments on fruit flies suggest tiredness could be caused by damaged neurons

Republicans bring the biggest changes to health care in 15 years

His pivot on supplying arms could help Ukraine defend itself

Higher inflation could give the Bank of England pause for thought over cutting interest rates.

Creativity and critical thinking might take a hit. But there are ways to soften the blow

Trump’s tariffs have brought a double serving of pain

Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter

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 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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