Vietnam and the Indian state of Kerala curbed covid-19 on the cheap
Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hubTHE PHONE rings and a doctor picks up. “Sir, we’ve run out of ventilators.…
Credit-rating agencies are back under the spotlight
May 7th 2020IN TIMES OF financial plenty credit ratings go largely unnoticed. In downturns, though, they attract more scrutiny—and are often found wanting. The dotcom crash of 2000-01 exposed ratings of some erstwhile corporate stars, including Enron, as nonsense. Worse was to come in the financial crisis of 2007-09, which the three big rating agencies—Moody’s,…
A perky stockmarket v a glum economy
May 7th 2020Editor’s note: The Economist is making some of its most important coverage of the covid-19 pandemic freely available to readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. To receive it, register here. For our coronavirus tracker and more coverage, see our hubFINANCIAL MARKETS look forward. Yesterday’s news is stale. What matters is the…
A Philippine broadcaster is forced off the air
A NEW TELEVISION drama is gripping the Philippines. Its protagonists include ABS-CBN, a giant broadcaster, and President Rodrigo Duterte. The story begins back in 2016, when ABS-CBN did not air some adverts backing Mr Duterte’s campaign for president, noting that others had booked the slots first. He has held a grudge ever since, compounded by…
A Kazakh politician with a pedigree unexpectedly loses her job
WHEN HE STEPPED down abruptly as president of Kazakhstan last year after 30 years in power, Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared to take out an insurance policy. As stipulated in the constitution, he was succeeded by the speaker of the Senate, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who was later affirmed as president in a rubber-stamp election. To replace Mr Tokayev…
Nurse Robs Credit Card of Dying COVID-19 Patient
A nurse in New York has been arrested for thieving a dying COVID-19 patient’s credit card to purchase $60-worth of gas and groceries, authorities say. 43-year-old Danielle Conti, a certified nurse in New York, stole 70-year-old Anthony Catapano’s American Express card and put it to work for three days before he passed away on April…