Price gouging: a cautionary tale
Oct 22nd 2020UNSCRUPULOUS TRADERS use a crisis to charge exorbitant prices. Politicians, wanting to protect consumers, crack down on profiteers. But how to work out what price is too high, and what redress is appropriate? The story of your correspondent’s local corner shop offers a cautionary tale.This type of shop was once familiar in New…
Who decides what counts as an emerging market?
Oct 22nd 2020WHAT DOES Saudi Arabia, with an income per head of $23,000, lavish public services and oodles of oil, have in common with Zambia, where incomes are 94% lower and the government is on the brink of default? Not much, on the face of it. But the two countries are lumped together, along with…
‘Seinfeld’ stars reunite for ‘fundraiser about something’ to help turn Texas blue
For a virtual fundraiser, Larry David, Jason Alexander, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus will join Seth Meyers and “yada yada yada.” The “fundraiser about something” is to assist the Texas Democratic Party’s initiatives to turn the second-largest U.S. state blue. The virtual event commences at 7 p.m. on Friday. Proceeds are being given to the state Democratic…
Where to Go to Vote for the November 2020 Elections
The tensions are high for the 59th quadrennial US Presidential elections. Americans all over the world are glued to their screens to track the polls. Just like in every other election, every vote matters. It is every American’s right to contribute to the selection of a President. You may think that you can only cast…
The front-runner for Joe Biden’s Treasury boss has a mighty CV
Oct 24th 2020IN EARLY 2009, faced with an economic crisis and a host of jobs to fill, Barack Obama, the newly inaugurated president, went hunting for talent. For the role of the Treasury department’s top diplomat he chose a capable economist named Lael Brainard, who had also worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. Ms Brainard later…
How Berlin has become a centre for European venture capital
Oct 22nd 2020FOR BRITS of a certain age and inclination, Berlin is a city that is forever linked with David Bowie. When he lived there in the late 1970s, Bowie’s life was in flux. He was estranged from his wife, splitting from his management and trying to slough off rock-star excess. Berlin was similarly unsettled:…
North Korea is lonelier than ever
IT WAS SATURDAY morning on the Korean peninsula and Friday evening in America when pundits and policymakers around the world tuned into North Korean state television. They had hoped to watch a military parade in Pyongyang, the capital, to mark the 75th anniversary of the ruling party’s creation on October 10th. But instead of the…
Indian stoners face a moral crusade
ONE MIGHT expect India to be at peace with marijuana. Before time itself, the god Shiva is supposed to have discovered the stuff. He sits high in a mythical Himalayan abode, eating gobs of it while pondering the mysteries of the universe; so do religious mendicants who emulate him today. Victorian India exported ganja to…
President Magufuli is likely to win an unfair vote in Tanzania
BACK IN JANUARY John Magufuli, Tanzania’s president, vowed that elections scheduled for October 28th would be free and fair. He has an odd way of ensuring it. He has banned local groups from monitoring the vote, harassed the opposition and journalists, closed a newspaper for its unfavourable coverage and banned a television station for daring…
Another sham election highlights Egypt’s problems
Oct 22nd 2020ALL THE publicly available evidence suggests that the Coalition of Hope was exactly what it claimed to be: a nascent political alliance that planned to field candidates in the election for Egypt’s lower house of parliament. The group, which included MPs, journalists, businessmen and labour leaders, aimed to shake up a legislature dominated…