Feb 10th 2025 L ast year dozens of countries proposed or introduced new tariffs on steel imports. Most aimed the measures at China, which they accused of flooding international markets with cheap metal. On February 9th Donald Trump took a different approach: he picked up a scattergun instead of a sniper’s rifle. As the president
V alentine’s day is fast approaching. Inside sock drawers around the world, men (and a few women) will be hiding rings intended to convey their everlasting love. Since De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company, ingeniously announced that “diamonds are forever” in the 1940s, most engagement rings have included a diamond—and an expensive one at
Feb 6th 2025 | Hong Kong A merica’s president tempts many people to invoke the “madman theory” of diplomacy. In dealing with other countries, it helps if they think you are crazy. By making threats credible even if they would harm your own country, such a reputation will let you win games of brinkmanship. Explore
Feb 6th 2025 | Washington, DC E mployers are ordering workers back to the office. In recent weeks Dell, a hardware-maker, and JPMorgan Chase, a bank, have issued such decrees. They join a growing list that includes AT&T, Amazon and even the American government, where Elon Musk—who has called remote work “morally wrong” and its
Feb 6th 2025 I t is hard to avoid the soft bigotry of low expectations. The EU’s statistics bureau titled a recent release—showing no economic growth in the last quarter of 2024—“GDP stable in the euro area”. “Stagnant” would have been more accurate. Explore more Economy Finance Reuse this content
Feb 6th 2025 | Washington, DC D onald Trump’s supporters celebrate him as a man who says what he means and means what he says. The trade crisis he ignited over the past week has provided more proof, if any was needed, that this reputation is undeserved. Yes, Mr Trump has been clear that he
A head of India’s budget on February 1st, Narendra Modi asked Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, to bless the poor and the middle class. The prime minister’s request for divine intervention mingled public spirit with political self-interest: frustration about economic growth and joblessness contributed to Mr Modi’s loss of his outright majority in elections
Feb 5th 2025 W hen the 24 cabinet secretaries and top-level officials in Donald Trump’s new government assemble, they will form one of the wealthiest administrations in history. Whether they are the very wealthiest is impossible to say, since official disclosures top out at “over $50m”—a pittance for some of the assembled. But such disclosures
Feb 4th 2025 | Hong Kong B ullies are often told to pick on someone their own size. Donald Trump has just followed that advice. After America’s president threatened to start a damaging new trade war with China, Canada and Mexico, America’s two smaller neighbours looked for ways to placate him. Accused of doing too
Feb 3rd 2025 | Washington, DC D ONALD TRUMP took North America to the precipice of a trade war over the weekend. On February 3rd he cooled things down, delaying tariffs on Canada and Mexico by a month as the countries attempt to reach a deal that may involve everything from immigration controls to trade