Economy
Our coverage of global economics, from inflation-fighting central banks to apprehensive financial markets
Data
American consumers are finally cheering up
Much to the relief of Joe Biden
The world’s richest countries in 2023
Our ranking compares economies in three different ways
These are the world’s most expensive cities
EIU’s cost-of-living index shows where prices are highest
Which city is the cheapest in the world?
The cost of living there is a little over a tenth of what it is in New York
What Donald Trump can learn from the Big Mac index
Should the presidential candidate go on another crusade against the yuan?
The US economy
American stocks are consuming global markets
That does not necessarily spell trouble
McDonald’s v Burger King: what a price war means for inflation
American consumers will be licking their lips. So will Federal Reserve officials
What to make of Joe Biden’s plans for a second term
His domestic agenda is underwhelming, unrealistic and better than the alternative
Will services make the world rich?
American fried chicken can now be served from the Philippines
America’s rich never sell their assets. How should they be taxed?
It is tempting to tax them during their lives. It is wiser to do so after their deaths
Donald Trump’s trade hawk is plotting behind bars
Peter Navarro’s dark vision of the global economy could shape Trump 2
China’s economy
Why Chinese banks are now vanishing
The state is struggling to deal with troubled institutions
The surprisingly frank economic advice that Xi Jinping gets
The minutes of a party meeting show voices in favour of bolder reform
How Chinese goods dodge American tariffs
Policymakers are unsure what to do about a tricky loophole
A pivotal moment for China’s Communist Party
Will Xi Jinping keep ignoring good advice at the party’s third plenum?
Who shaved $250bn from Kweichow Moutai’s market value?
Hint: it wasn’t Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive
China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined
Its share of international reserves has stalled
Russia’s economy
European banks are making heady profits in Russia
But for how much longer?
Russia’s gas business will never recover from the war in Ukraine
Hopes of a Chinese rescue look increasingly vain
Frozen Russian assets will soon pay for Ukraine’s war
And America now hopes to convince others to make better use of the stash
How a Russia-linked mine may keep the ANC in power
South Africa’s ruling party was broke a few months ago, but its fortunes are changing
Asia’s economies
Japan’s mind-bending bento-box economics
The paradox of red-hot labour markets, falling demand and rising prices
Narendra Modi needs to win over low-income Indians
They are dissatisfied with their share of the country’s growth
Boom times are back for container shipping
Can they last?
Indian state capitalism looks to be in trouble
A weakened Narendra Modi is bad news for investors in government-controlled firms
Will India’s new government turbocharge the fight against poverty?
India and China have taken very different approaches to the problem
Japanese businesses are trapped between America and China
Could geopolitics kill off an incipient corporate revival?
Europe’s economies
Ukraine has a month to avoid default
Lending to a borrower at war entails an additional gamble: that it will win
Is the revival of Paris in peril?
The French election threatens a remarkable commercial renaissance
Keir Starmer should be Britain’s next prime minister
Why Labour must form the next government
European millionaires seek a safe harbour from populism
Many are fleeing to the Gulf—never mind war next door
How bad could things get in France?
The country’s next prime minister faces a brutal fiscal crunch
What taxes might Labour raise?
Growth alone will not fix Britain’s public finances