How “El Mencho’s” death could reshape Mexico’s largest cartel | The Economist

2026-01-22

The dollar has been the world’s primary reserve currency for the best part of a century. But as the alliances and institutions that underpin America’s dominance wither, could the currency lose its privileged position? Rachana Shanbhogue, The Economist’s business-affairs editor, and Henry Curr, economics editor, are joined in Davos by economists Gita Gopinath and Kenneth Rogoff. Together they assess the dollar’s vulnerabilities and ask what could take its place.

00:00 – When and why did the dollar start to decline?
02:40 – How does democratic backsliding impact America’s currency?
03:40 – The risks to the financial system
04:36 – Why the dollar remains resilient
05:21 – Could the euro replace the dollar?

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4a21YKt

This time really is different for

2026-01-15

A year into Donald Trump’s second term, global trade has been transformed. America has abandoned its role as guardian of the post-1945 order, instead wielding tariffs to punish political foes and pressure friends. Jamieson Greer, America’s trade representative, joins David Rennie, The Economist’s geopolitics editor, to defend Team Trump’s approach to America First trade. He explains why tariffs are permanent and reveals his plan if the Supreme Court tariff ruling doesn’t go his way.

00:00 – Are tariffs the new norm?
02:21 – The philosophy behind Trump’s tariffs
03:21 – Tariffs as a geopolitical tool
03:52 – How America’s allies have reacted to the levies
06:07 – The long-term impact on American foreign policy

Watch the full interview: https://econ.st/3LfsR4h

Why China is winning

2026-01-09

Has Trump just pulled off the most brazen oil heist in history? Vijay Vaitheeswaran, The Economist’s Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor talks to Ethan Wu and Mike Bird, co-hosts of The Money Talks podcast, about why America might never benefit from Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

00:00 – Why Venezuela’s vast oil reserves are so difficult to use
02:29 – Heavy vs light crude: why Venezuelan oil is different
04:38 – Why big oil won’t invest in Venezuela again
06:23 – What oil prices would make Venezuela viable
08:41 – Why this oil strategy feels outdated today

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4sxjAVK
How the Pentagon snatched Nicolás Maduro: https://econ.st/4hv0wlY
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#TheEconomist #Venezuela #oilandgas

2025-12-01

Plagued by corruption and weakened on the battlefield, Ukraine now risks being beaten at the negotiating table, too. If it does not show that it is willing to talk peace, it risks losing American support. Zanny Minton Beddoes, our editor-in-chief, and Edward Carr, deputy editor, and a panel of our experts dissect the latest peace plan and what it means for Ukraine.

00:00 – What we know about the negotiations
03:30 – Who leaked the Steve Witkoff-Yuri Ushakov call?
04:48 – The details of the “peace plan”
06:35 – What the deal could mean for Ukraine

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4indiU2

Read our coverage of the war: https://econ.st/48sr43i

Ukraine may be a step closer to peace, or to destruction: https://econ.st/4rqtCaB

If the fighting ends in Ukraine, the infighting in

2025-11-29

What connects a drug cartel in Mexico with a flat purchase in New York? The Economist explores how Chinese underground banking networks launder billions of illicit dollars every year, often on American soil.

2025-11-25

Stamp duty and property-transaction taxes are warping housing markets everywhere. Scrapping them would increase the buying and selling of homes and stimulate the economy, as our economics editor, Henry Curr, explains.

2025-10-10

As celebrations continue over the ceasefire in Gaza, a number of crucial questions remain: will Hamas give up its weapons? How will the transitional authority work? And what does this mean on the ground for Gazans? The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, sat down with the paper’s experts to discuss the merits and pitfalls of Trump’s plan.

Watch the full discussion here: https://econ.st/4obWt04

00:00 – Will Hamas give up its weapons?
02:06 – The transitional authority
05:10 – How is this different to the Oslo Accords?
07:58 – Will President Trump stick to the deal?
08:40 – How quickly can conditions improve on the ground?

Is this a new beginning for the Middle East? https://econ.st/3Wk1eZL
Israel and Hamas agree to the first phase of Donald Trump’s peace plan:

2025-09-24

Is the United Nations still fit for purpose? Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor at The Economist, discusses the future of the UN as it marks its 80th birthday with co-host of The Intelligence Jason Palmer.

0:00 – What is the state of the United Nations at 80?
0:44 – Macron recognises aPalestinian state: why is this significant?
2:11 – Why does American funding matter so much?
5:00 – What does the UN look like without America?
5:45 – Will the UN decay or be “Trumpified”?
7:02 – Could the UN come through this period stronger?

Listen to the full episode:https://econ.st/3Vw8pxn
The UN’s grim future: https://econ.st/4mxJHrE
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#theeconomist #unitednations #donaldtrump