Finance

Americas

With Earnings Soaring, Wall Street Banks See Economic Boom Ahead

The banks said they released large chunks of money that had been set aside to cushion themselves from losses caused by the pandemic. #styln-signup .styln-signup-wrapper { max-width: calc(100% - 40px); width: 600px; margin: 20px auto; padding-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e2e2e2; } The mood on Wall Street is decidedly...

How to Use Technology to Prepare for Travel During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Even as vaccines make it safer to travel, planning a trip is becoming increasingly complicated.With coronavirus vaccines now readily available, you might have ambitions to venture far from home. Government officials, after all, say traveling is a low-risk activity for the inoculated.But the sheer amount of preparation needed to travel during the pandemic...

Why Coinbase's Trading Debut Is a Cryptocurrency Coming-Out Party

#styln-signup .styln-signup-wrapper { max-width: calc(100% - 40px); width: 600px; margin: 20px auto; padding-bottom: 20px; border-bottom: 1px solid #e2e2e2; } SAN FRANCISCO — Digital currency, once mocked as a tool for criminals and reckless speculators, is sliding into the mainstream.Traditional banks are helping investors...

CBS News President Prepares Exit as Broadcast News Is in Flux

Susan Zirinsky is departing, while ABC News is said to be close to hiring a new leader, at a time of reorganization in television news in the post-Trump era.The first woman to lead CBS News, Susan Zirinsky, is expected to announce that she is stepping down from the presidency of the network’s news division, possibly as soon as this week, a person...

The Biden Administration Is Quietly Keeping Tabs on Inflation

A monthslong effort to monitor and model economic trends inside the White House and the Treasury Department found little risk of prices spiraling upward faster than the Fed can manage.WASHINGTON — Even before President Biden took office, some of his closest aides were focused on a question that risked derailing his economic agenda: Would his plans...

Asia Pacific

India is recording more cases of covid-19 than any other country

ON APRIL 7TH India detected more than 125,000 new cases of covid-19—more than any other country in the world. The same day neighbouring Bangladesh registered far fewer—just over 7,600—but that was nonetheless a record for the country. Pakistan, too, is suffering a surge in infections, with the president, prime minister and minister of...

Pakistan’s generals are ever more involved in running the country

BEFORE HE BECAME prime minister, Imran Khan was happy to hold forth about the role of the armed forces in Pakistan. They were so influential in politics, he told The Economist, only because civilian governments had been so ineffectual. Once in office, he said, he would change all that. Yet in early March, when his government lost an important Senate...

China tries to nick another speck in the sea from the Philippines

THE CHINESE ships that appeared around Whitsun Reef in March were unusual for fishing vessels. They seemed to do little fishing, for a start. Satellite images revealed them to be pristine and lined up with military precision. China said the ships were simply sheltering from bad weather. But the Philippine government said they belonged to China’s “maritime...

Another species harmed by climate change: Japanese poets

“HOW MANY, many things/they call to mind/these cherry blossoms!” the poet Basho once wrote of Japan’s favourite flower. The blossoms have long provoked reflections on beauty, transience and the unceasing rhythms of the natural world. This year, their annual appearance has many thinking about how those rhythms are changing. The cherry trees in...

Thailand’s democracy protests are dwindling

LAST SUMMER, despite the tropical heat and humidity, more than 10,000 mostly young protesters paraded repeatedly through central Bangkok. The protests had a carnival atmosphere. Students dressed as Harry Potter, the better to vanquish He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (King Maha Vajiralongkorn); held aloft giant yellow ducks (a symbol popular with democracy...

Mena

Khalifa Haftar is losing ground and lashing out in Libya

KHALIFA HAFTAR’S self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) says it will cease fire for what remains of the holy month of Ramadan. But friends of General Haftar say he is doubling down on the civil war he started six years ago. His year-long siege of Tripoli, seat of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), has intensified of late. Groups loyal...

Saudi Arabia stops flogging

“THE FORNICATRESS and the fornicator—flog each of them with a hundred stripes; and do not let pity for them hold you back from carrying out God’s law.” So says the Koran, which dates back to the seventh century. Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, is trying to drag the kingdom into the 21st. So on April 25th the government...

Zambia was already a case study in how not to run an economy

“I FEEL YOUR PAIN,” said Edgar Lungu in a televised address on April 24th. The president of Zambia claimed that covid-19 had “thrown into disarray” the country’s finances. He mused about whether the government could afford to pay for pensions, civil-service salaries and medicine. “Where will the money come from?” It is a good question....

How Sudan’s warlords buy their gun trucks

THE TOYOTA HILUX is a sturdy vehicle. That makes it especially popular in Africa. It outsells all other pickup trucks, or “bakkies”, in South Africa. In Mali and Niger smugglers transporting people and goods across the Sahara will accept no alternative, since they can cram 30 people onto one and can still climb a sand dune. It is also a familiar...

Some African politicians risk spreading covid through quackery

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 hub MANY AFRICAN politicians are fighting covid-19 with tools prescribed by science. South...

International

Unlocking the Future: The Transformative Potential of Synthetic Data in the Financial Services Industry

In the ever-evolving landscape of the financial services industry, data reigns supreme. It is the lifeblood that drives decision-making, innovation, and competitiveness. We embark on a deep dive into the world of synthetic data and explore its transformative potential in the financial services sector. Synthetic data, often dubbed the "data of the future,"...

Argentina: Congress Passes New Law Requiring Congressional Approval for Public Debt

(Mar. 11, 2021) On March 3, 2021, Argentina’s Congress passed Law 27612 on Public Debt Sustainability, which provides that financing agreements with any international organization must be approved by law. The General Budget Law of the National Administration for each fiscal year is now required to provide a maximum percentage amount assigned to...

Italy: Workers’ Income, Wine and Textile Industries Part of 2021 Budget Focus

(Mar. 8, 2021) On December 30, 2020, Italy’s Parliament passed Law No. 178 approving the annual budget for fiscal year 2021 (January 1 to December 31). This vast legislation touches upon many aspects of the Italian government and society. This article provides a broad overview of certain important areas of this legislation. Appropriations to Tackle...

Brazil: Chamber of Deputies Approves Autonomy of Brazilian Central Bank

(Mar. 2, 2021) On February 10, 2021, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved Draft Law No. 19/2019, which grants autonomy to the Brazilian Central Bank (Banco Central do Brasil). The law defines the period for the mandates of the president and directors of the Central Bank, which must not coincide with that of the president […]Read More

United Kingdom: Government Publishes Public Consultation on Environmental Impact of Commercial Spaceflight

(Mar. 2, 2021) On February 10, 2021, the United Kingdom’s government published a consultation (survey) seeking the public’s opinion about the environmental objectives the U.K.’s spaceflight regulator must consider when determining whether to grant a spaceport or launch operator license, along with guidance on how the regulator must...