The Economist | Independent journalism
The US in brief
Steve Bannon must report to prison
Dateline
Try The Economist's history quiz
Analysing Africa
Introducing our latest newsletter
Leaders
America’s billionaires should resist the urge to support Donald Trump
A Trump victory would reward them. But not enough to justify the risks
Leaders
How the Labour Party could end Britain’s stagnation
Even if the economy peps up, taxes will have to rise
Leaders
Three reasons why it’s good news that robots are getting smarter
They are becoming more capable, easier to program and better at explaining themselves
The world in brief
America’s economy added 272,000 jobs in May, up from a revised figure of 165,000 for April, and far higher than expectations...
Russia and China voiced concerns at the UN Security Council about an American draft resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza...
Meanwhile, Israel’s army defended its decision to bomb a school in Gaza, claiming that it struck “dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists hiding inside”...
An alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party formally put forward Narendra Modi to become India’s prime minister...
Chinese fast-food insurgents are beating McDonald’s and KFC
The healthy appetite comes from smaller cities
A D-Day commemoration that was not just about beating Hitler
Biden, Macron and Zelensky vowed to defend Ukraine and democracy
Is America’s weed habit dangerous?
Our analysis of the data
Lexington: Grown up in the USA
Forty years on, Bruce Springsteen’s defining album still has something to teach Americans
The US in brief
Steve Bannon must report to prison
Dateline
Try The Economist's history quiz
Analysing Africa
Introducing our latest newsletter
This week
The most important political stories this week
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party win a slim majority, Imran Khan acquitted—and more
The most important business stories this week
Nvidia’s market capitalisation soars past $3trn, Boeing launches Starliner spacecraft—and more
KAL’s cartoon
A lighter look at the week's events
Letters to the editor
On Somalia, democracy in America, Shirley Conran, large language models, Beethoven’s ninth, TV comedy
Video
Modi’s humbling
A triumph for Indian democracy
The shock election result will change the country—ultimately for the better
Narendra Modi could respond to disappointment in two different ways
He could become more moderate and focus on the economy, or double down on Hindu nationalism
The people and places that turned away from the BJP
The heartland, and especially lower-caste voters, have soured on Narendra Modi
Podcasts
The Modi Raj: Episode 1
Born in a small town in Gujarat, Narendra Modi is looking for a way to escape. He finds it in the Hindu-nationalist RSS
50:36
World news
Morena’s landslide win threatens to take Mexico down a dangerous path
The country’s newly elected president will need to show political courage
Why New York scrapped congestion charging
Back-seat drivers may have influenced Governor Kathy Hochul’s abrupt decision
South Africa’s future is in the hands of a divided ANC
The party is debating whether to embrace populism or pragmatism
Talk of war between Israel and Lebanon is growing
Israel and Hizbullah would still prefer to avoid one, but that is getting ever harder to do
Business, finance and economics
Buttonwood: Should you buy expensive stocks?
A new paper suggests the answer is “yes”
American business should not empower a criminal, says Reid Hoffman
No rational CEO would want a capricious strongman in the White House, argues the entrepreneur
Is America’s economy heading for a consumer crunch?
Warning signs have started to appear. But there are reasons for optimism
Bartleby: Is it better to be an early bird or a night owl?
The promise and perils of waking before sunrise
EU elections
The three women who will shape Europe
At a crucial moment they encapsulate the dilemma of how to handle populism
The rise of the hard right threatens Europe’s political stability
European elections could mean gridlock in Brussels and beyond
European elections 2024
European Parliament elections tracker: who’s leading the polls?
Will the hard right make gains in June? The Economist is following the contest
How powerful is the European Parliament?
Upcoming elections show its growing clout
America’s election year
What Donald Trump’s 34 convictions mean for the presidential election
Come election season, it could be Hunter Biden’s trial that hogs the headlines
In brief
Steve Bannon must report to prison; Republicans woo minorities
Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter
US election 2024
Who are the Americans switching from Biden to Trump?
Try our “Build a voter” tool—and see which attributes make voters likely to pick one candidate over the other
Trump v Biden: who’s ahead in the polls?
The Economist is tracking the race to be America’s next president
Britain’s election
Bagehot: Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer fight for a poundshop presidency
The general election reveals the absurdities of Britain’s presidential turn
Can Britain’s economy grow as fast as it needs to?
Labour is banking on a big upswing in growth. It will struggle to get one
UK election 2024
General-election forecast: will Labour destroy the Conservatives?
Our seat-by-seat prediction for Britain’s next Parliament
The seats where Labour is concentrating its campaign firepower
Our analysis shows that activists are not just being dispatched to Tory targets
The Israel-Hamas war
Who is responsible for feeding Gaza?
Arguments fly over Israel’s duty to maintain aid
Outrage at a strike in Rafah is unlikely to change policy
America has already said the incident does not cross its red lines
The ICJ orders restraint from Israel in Rafah
But the court has no way to enforce its judgment, and there is no chance Israel will heed it
What does it mean to recognise Palestinian statehood?
Ireland, Norway and Spain will be the latest to do so
Stories most read by subscribers
Featured read
The side-effects of the TikTok tussle
As the app’s future hangs in the balance, the ramifications of the battle are becoming clearer
The war in Ukraine
In Crimea, Ukraine is beating Russia
The peninsula is becoming a death trap for the Kremlin’s forces
Russia’s explosion of a huge Ukrainian dam had surprising effects
A year after the blast and flood, Ukrainians disagree over whether to rebuild Kakhovka
Tracking the Ukraine war: where is the latest fighting?
Our satellite view of the conflict, updated daily
Ukraine’s desperate struggle to defend Kharkiv
It is holding off Russia’s attack — for now
Other highlights
Yuval Noah Harari on how to prevent a new age of imperialism
Non-Western powers have a stake in bringing peace to Ukraine, argues the historian
Bans on dog meat sweep across Asia
Three reasons lie behind the cuddly trend
Charles III gets his own paper currency
But most Britons will see far less of him than they did his mother
Forget Jack Sparrow and Captain Hook. Piracy is far more fearsome
A riveting new history of aquatic ambushes, from the 1600s to today
Weekly edition: June 8th 2024
A triumph for Indian democracy
Billionares’ bad bet on Trump
A Trump victory would reward them. But not enough to justify the risks
Where Ukraine is beating Russia
Crimea is becoming a death trap for the Kremlin’s forces
When to buy expensive stocks
A new paper considers the question
From chatbots to robots
There is more to AI than ChatGPT
Special reports: May 11th 2024
Worlds apart
The American-led financial order is giving way to a more divided one
The global financial system is in danger of fragmenting
How crises reshaped the world financial system
The movement of capital globally is in decline
National payment systems are proliferating
The fight to dethrone the dollar
How the financial system would respond to a superpower war
Sources and acknowledgments