The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance

The Economist today

News analysis
Leaders

Xi Jinping is reinventing state capitalism. Don’t underestimate it

China’s strongman leader has a new economic agenda

Related

Xi Jinping is trying to remake the Chinese economy

Middle East & Africa

Israel and the UAE make their quiet affair public

But the agreement to establish formal diplomatic relations, historic as it is, may not reshape the region

Highlights
Leaders

What Kamala says about Joe

Joe Biden’s choice of running-mate reflects well on him

Britain

Arbitrary A-level results are normal

Complaints have forced a government U-turn, but results are surprisingly random in normal times

From our columnists
Finance & economics

Free exchange: Has the ECB found a way around the lower bound on interest rates?

Its cheap loans to banks could help kickstart inflation

Daily chart

Why cash has been piling up during the pandemic

Consumers are hoarding banknotes. And perhaps crooks are struggling to launder their ill-gotten gains

Moreover
Books & arts

Discover the riotous prose of a classic Brazilian author

“The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas” is an invigorating read

The Economist’s coverage of the coronavirus

Read now

Weekly edition

Xi’s new economy. Don’t underestimate it

August 15th 2020
The Economist cover image for the August 15th 2020 edition
Read full edition

Readers’ favourites

United States

Donald Trump’s executive orders do little for hard-hit Americans

International

The dereliction of American diplomacy

Schools brief

What more should antitrust be doing?

Graphic detail

How America’s electoral college favours white voters

A ballot cast in New Hampshire is 100,000 times likelier to tip the result than one in Washington, DC

Podcasts

Sound reasoning on current affairs, business and finance, science and technology, and global issues.

Listen now

In context: Covid-19 vaccines

Leaders

The world is spending nowhere near enough on a coronavirus vaccine

Far better to spend far too much

Finance & economics

Hard questions as scientists and governments seek covid-19 vaccines

They must work out how much to invest, and how best to distribute the goods

Science & technology

Trials of a vaccine and new drug raise hopes of beating the disease

Briefing

Can the world find a good vaccine quickly enough?

Special report: The Midwest

A region with outsized punch

America’s Midwest matters out of proportion to its size, says Adam Roberts

The urban prairie

For the region to prosper, its bigger cities must flourish

Separate, downtrodden

The region has particular problems with segregation and policing

America’s Mittelstand

Advanced manufacturing can thrive, as Grand Rapids shows

From rustbelt to brainbelt

How higher education can drive prosperity

Read full report

Economist Films

Authoritative insight on news, politics, business, finance, science, technology and the connections between them.

Watch now

The world at your fingertips.

Subscribe for unlimited access to world-leading reporting and analysis.

Subscriber-only benefits

  • Full access to all Economist digital products
  • Read and listen offline on iOS and Android
  • Subscribers-only daily briefing newsletter
  • The weekly edition, in print, digital and audio
View subscription options