What would a $15 minimum wage mean for America’s economy?
Jan 28th 2021MOST AMERICANS share President Joe Biden’s enthusiasm for increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25. Two-thirds of them—and more than 40% of Republicans—favour such a rise, according to Pew Research Centre, a polling firm. Economists, however, are more divided. When a panel of eminent scholars was asked in 2015…
What effect will Joe Biden’s “Buy American” order have?
Jan 26th 2021WASHINGTON, DCAMERICAN TAXPAYERS’ dollars should be spent on American goods made by American workers and with American-made parts. So says President Joe Biden, newly installed in the White House. On January 25th he signed an executive order meant to pull more of the $600bn of annual federal-procurement spending into American hands. The order…
Asia is hungry for reassurance from Joe Biden
“WE ARE ALL heaving a sigh of relief,” says a South-East Asian diplomat, about the exit of President Donald Trump. Never has America’s ability to underpin Asia’s stability and prosperity been so doubted by the region’s leaders and policymakers as over the past four years. Unfortunately for America’s standing in the region, the diplomat adds…
The frenzied rise of GameStop
A WEEK AGO few people had probably heard of GameStop, the beleaguered brick-and-mortar purveyor of video games. Millennials might recall visiting a store in their youth; their parents, perhaps, taking them. None can claim ignorance now. The firm’s share price has spiked from a few dollars in 2020 to a peak of more than $350…
Who is at risk from premature austerity?
THE BUDGET deficits of the world’s governments will add up to about 8.5% of global GDP this year, according to new projections by the IMF. That amounts to well over $7trn of additional red ink. Remarkably, it may not be enough.Listen to this storyYour browser does not support the element.Enjoy more audio and podcasts on…
Suga Yoshihide is failing to connect with the Japanese people
DURING HIS time as chief cabinet secretary, Suga Yoshihide flummoxed Japanese comedians. “He never had any distinctive characteristics,” says Yamamoto Tenshin, who impersonates Mr Suga for “The Newspaper”, a comedy troupe. Voters projected their hopes on that blank slate when Mr Suga became prime minister in September: he entered office with approval ratings as high…
Mongolia’s government resigns after a small protest
IT IS RARE for anti-government demonstrators to see their demands met after a single day of protest. Yet the crowds of Mongolians who braved the biting cold of their capital, Ulaanbaatar, calling for heads to roll because of the mistreatment of a hospital patient got what they wanted—and more. Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, the prime minister, announced…
Mahmoud Abbas calls for elections in Palestine
Jan 30th 2021DUBAI AND JERUSALEMMOST PALESTINIANS are probably too young to remember when their president, Mahmoud Abbas, took power in 2005. He was elected to a four-year term, the first of two permitted by law. He never got round to holding another vote, yet he remains in charge, having served four times his mandate. Amazingly,…
Beny Steinmetz gets jail, Dan Gertler a reprieve
Jan 28th 2021IN DECEMBER 2017 Donald Trump’s administration imposed financial sanctions on Dan Gertler. That came as a shock to the government of Joseph Kabila, who was then the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mr Gertler, who was named alongside several allegedly crooked politicians and businessmen, was one of Mr Kabila’s closest friends.…