Finance & economics

UnTethered
Tether is fined by regulators in New York

A “stablecoin” is branded anything but, adding to jitters in crypto-markets

Green maths
What is the cheapest way to cut carbon?

Bill Gates is the latest to grapple with a thorny question

Buttonwood
What market break-evens do and don’t tell you about inflation fears

The closely watched gauges are too volatile to be a reliable guide

The shape of things to come
Economic forecasters are pencilling in heady growth rates

America is expected to grow at its fastest pace since 1984

Rain for the rainmakers
What the SPAC craze means for tech investing

Signs of the craze are as common as sightings of unicorns in Silicon Valley

Token effort
Bitcoin crosses $50,000

But the real action on digital currencies is at central banks

In search of a cure
The WTO has a new chief. Is it time for new trade rules too?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is not alone in thinking the WTO could do more

Free exchange
What a hot American economy means for the rest of the world

Trading partners will benefit. But the real uncertainty comes from the Fed

SPAC invasion
Why SPACs are Wall Street’s latest craze

Blank-cheque firms appeal to everyone, from sophisticated financiers to sportsmen

Some pleasant fiscal arithmetic
Should governments in emerging economies worry about their debt?

As in the rich world, interest rates are below nominal growth rates in many places