Category Archive: 5) Global Macro

If AI Is So Great, Prove It: Eliminate All Surveillance, Spam and Robocalling

AI is for the peons, access to humans is reserved for the wealthy. Judging by the near-infinite hype spewed about AI, its power is practically limitless: it's going to do all our work better and cheaper than we can do, replacing us at work, to name one example making the rounds.

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One dam thing after another? Ukraine and reconstruction

When Russia attacked the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine a year ago, lives were lost, families stranded and towns submerged. But from that devastation emerged discussion on post-war reconstruction (https://www.economist.com/interactive/europe/2024/06/05/russias-explosion-of-a-huge-ukrainian-dam-had-surprising-effects). Our correspondent spent months investigating Narendra Modi (https://www.economist.com/audio/podcasts/the-modi-raj), the strongman who was...

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Labour’s pains: Britain’s growth problem

As Britain’s general-election campaign heats up, party leaders are vague on their economic plans (https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/06/03/can-britains-economy-grow-as-fast-as-it-needs-to). With growth so slow, how could the victor energise the economy? We visit the D-day beaches 80 years on, as war rages in Europe once again (10:19). And Venice’s new daytripper fee...

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Modi’s mess: a shock election result spells uncertainty for India

Narendra Modi, the strongman of India, will have to compromise now his party has lost its majority (https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/06/04/a-shock-election-result-in-india-humbles-narendra-modi). What does the surprise result mean for the country? As some foreign investors shy away from Africa, the continent’s private sector (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/05/23/africa-inc-is-ready-to-roar) is serving domestic customers to fill that...

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The big gag: Hong Kong’s crackdown on freedom

There has been a slow strangling of freedom (https://www.economist.com/china/2024/05/30/hong-kong-convicts-14-pro-democracy-activists?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) in the territory where pro-democracy activists have been convicted; an annual vigil for the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in...

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I, Claudia: Mexico’s new leader

Claudia Sheinbaum has been elected Mexico’s first female president (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/06/03/mexicos-new-president-must-do-a-high-stakes-u-turn?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners). Now the real fight begins: crime is rocketing, corruption is rampant and the country is divided. Hurricane...

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Choose this podcast: abortion and the election

In 2022 the Supreme Court gave control of abortion back to “the people and their elected representatives.” This November will be the greatest test yet of what that means. Democrats are running hard on the issue...

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Trump found guilty: what does this verdict mean?

Donald Trump is a convicted felon. Historic, yes. Game-changer? Probably not. Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter: https://econ.st/4bSCoWE Read more about the 2024 US elections: https://econ.st/4bF3q3X Read our leader on the verdict: https://econ.st/4dWFkDn Listen to our US podcast, “Checks and Balance”: https://econ.st/3yIkdo8

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Out on a ledger: Trump convicted

The former president was found guilty (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/05/30/the-disgrace-of-a-former-american-president?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) on all 34 charges of falsifying business records. But his convictions leave lots of room for appeals, and for supporters to cry foul. South...

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Trailer: The Modi Raj

Narendra Modi may well be the most popular politician on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy. A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider and the man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma. Can Mr Modi continue to balance...

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The Intelligence: Rishi Sunak’s report card

Ahead of a general election (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/05/22/rishi-sunaks-election-call-makes-no-sense-but-is-good-news?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) in July, we reflect on 14 years of Conservative rule. It’s not a great record, but will the prime minister be able to spin it on the...

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NATO’s boss wants to free Ukraine to strike inside Russia

NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has called on allies to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of NATO weapons inside Russian territory. Speaking to The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Stoltenberg discussed in detail how the alliance can deal with the multiple threats Russia poses to global security—and prepare for a second Trump presidency.

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Financial Forecast 2025-2032: Please Don’t Be Naive

Rather than attempt to evade Caesar's reach, a better strategy might be to 'go gray': blend in, appear average. Let's start by stipulating that I don't "like" this forecast. I'm not "talking my book" (for example, promoting nuclear power because I own shares in a uranium mine) or issuing this forecast because I favor it.

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Weekly Market Pulse: Are Higher Interest Rates Good For The Economy?

Interest rates surged last week on the back of a hotter-than-expected inflation report that wasn’t actually that bad (see below). Not that my – or your – opinion about these things matters all that much to the market.

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Sound Money Vs. Fiat Currency: Trade and Credit Are the Wild Cards

We need to start thinking outside the current system, which has no solutions.

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Global Recession’s Winners and Losers

The few winners of global recession will use the decline as a means to break the chokehold of unproductive BAU elites.

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Who is “Europe’s last dictator”?

Four years ago Belarus’s dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, stole a presidential election. Belarusians have just voted again, in parliamentary and local polls. This time there was little chance of a repeat of the protests that followed the rigged vote in 2020. How has Mr Lukashenko tightened his grip? 00:00 - Why Lukashenko is called “Europe’s last dictator” 00:57 - How Lukashenko came to power 01:29 - Why Lukashenko is dependent on Putin Sign up to...

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Rates, Risk and Debt: The Unavoidable Reckoning Ahead

Policy errors have consequences, and we're only in the first inning of those consequences.

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How the Economy Changed: There’s No Bargains Left Anywhere

What changed in the economy is now nobody can afford to get by on working-class wages because there's no longer any bargains.

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Alexei Navalny, in his own words

The Economist interviewed Alexei Navalny, who has reportedly died in an Arctic penal colony, in the run-up to Russia’s 2018 presidential election. He discussed the breadth of his political support, his experiences in prison and offered some predictions for the future of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. 00:16 - The death of Navalny 00:41 - Navalny in prison 02:00 - Putin’s goals Sign up to The Economist’s daily newsletter: https://econ.st/3QAawvI Alexei...

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