Who is the world’s best banker?
Oct 29th 2020WHO IS THE most impressive banker on the planet? Judged by their swagger and $20m-40m paypackets, the bosses of Wall Street’s big firms are contenders; yet several run firms that have delivered weak returns, been bailed out and left a toxic trail of scandals. Measured by sheer clout, the heads of China’s state…
Emerging markets’ experiments with QE have not turned out too badly
ECONOMIES, UNLIKE people, become more tolerant of excess as they mature. Thus America or Japan can get away with fast-and-loose economic policies that would spell disaster if less mature, “emerging” economies tried them at home. Quantitative easing (QE) is often cited as an example. Buying government bonds with newly created money is surely the kind…
Japan promises to be carbon-neutral by 2050
SUGA YOSHIHIDE, Japan’s new prime minister, came to office in September promising continuity with his predecessor, Abe Shinzo. But in one way he has already distinguished himself: during his first speech to the Diet as prime minister, on October 26th, he promised to reduce Japan’s net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050, breaking…
LeBron James producing documentary on 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
CNN Films is teaming up with LeBron James and his production company to produce an impending documentary regarding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. “Dreamland: The Rise and Fall of Black Wall Street,” directed by Salima Koroma, will depict the authentic, heartrending tale of one of America’s ugliest race riots. Jamal Henderson, chief operating officer of…
What GDP can and cannot tell you about the post-pandemic economy
Oct 29th 2020PITY THE world’s chartmakers. For years, normal economic fluctuations will be dwarfed by the extraordinary gyrations of 2020, such as the third-quarter GDP figures that are now rolling in. These data are informative—measures of output today are in part a reflection of governments’ success or failure in controlling the spread of covid-19. Yet…
Getting down with the cool kids on bitcoin
Oct 29th 2020EVERY TUESDAY for most of 1979-80, the Blitz wine bar in Covent Garden was host to an influential club-night. London was then a run-down city. The Blitz was a seedy spot. What made it remarkable were the Blitz Kids, the extravagantly dressed Tuesday-night regulars. A teenage Boy George worked in the cloakroom. The…
India’s states and the national government are at growing odds
FOR THREE weeks farmers in colourful turbans pitched camp atop the train tracks that stitch the paddies and wheat fields of Punjab. Brewing chai, roasting chapatis, playing cards or simply dozing, the protesters froze traffic across the state’s entire 2,000km rail network. Their rail roko ended on October 21st, after the state legislature voted to…
Pakistani journalists find ways to get their stories out
WHEN MATIULLAH JAN was abducted in July outside the school where his wife works, footage from security cameras captured much of what happened. A group of men jumped out of three cars and forced the freelance journalist into one of them before zooming off. At least one of the assailants wore a uniform and carried…
How covid-19 hinders the fight against malaria
Oct 31st 2020DAKAR, MAIDUGURI AND THIBASINCE COVID-19 hit Kenya, Margaret Wanja has accumulated six grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She lives in Thiba, a rice-growing village. Her new brood are all evacuees from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. Many city-dwellers believe it is safer to send their children to rural relatives. Others hope to save money. The pandemic…
Sudan joins a wave of Arab states recognising Israel
KHARTOUM, THE capital of Sudan, holds a symbolic place in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was there in 1967 that the Arab League declared their “three nos”: no peace with Israel, no recognition, no negotiations. Unity was short-lived. Egypt said yes to peace in 1978, followed by Jordan in 1994. But for half…