Leaders
$WAMP coins
Crypto has become the ultimate swamp asset
An industry that dreamed of being above politics has become synonymous with self-dealing
A ceasefire, not peace
Stop-gap deals do not mean Donald Trump’s trade war is over
Barriers between America and China are still far too high. So is uncertainty
American diplomacy
Is Donald Trump a good dealmaker?
Amid a flurry of moves, the president is turning America into the world’s broker, not its underwriter
Claudia Sheinbaum’s folly
Mexico’s government is throttling the rule of law
Elected judges will be bad for governance and good for gangs
Beware the business bots
How to handle the AI manager. Advice from our new podcast
For tips on good management, listen to the latest season of “Boss Class”
Letters
A selection of correspondence
The problems with deep-sea mining
By Invitation
Briefing
Cryptocracy
The crypto industry is suddenly at the heart of American politics
Thank the Trump family’s investments, friendly regulators and lavish election spending
Asia
Truce trouble
Why India is annoyed by its ceasefire with Pakistan
The new normal
Kashmir’s uncertain future
A massive muddle
Prabowo Subianto’s economic policy is weakening Indonesia
Excel diplomacy
After the revolution, Bangladesh is hoping to reform
China
China-Russia relations
Xi Jinping has Vladimir Putin over a barrel
Making friends, not babies
Young Chinese are turning to AI chatbots for friendship and love
United States
The great murder mystery
Violent crime is falling rapidly across America
Work-life balance
The Medicaid calculus behind Donald Trump’s tax cuts
Concession stand
Why a vote dispute in North Carolina should worry Americans
White sox and white smoke
Are American Catholics ready for an American pope?
Lexington
Embrace the woo woo
The Americas
The end of independence
Mexico will be the only country that elects all its judges
Man of the Uruguayan people
José “El Pepe” Mujica became the antithesis of a caudillo
Middle East & Africa
Helping Syria’s economy
Trump’s decision to lift sanctions is a triumph for Syria’s president
The trillion-dollar illusion
The chimera of private finance for development
Europe
A view to kill?
Europeans are becoming less free to say what they think
Will they, won‘t they?
Peace talks are starting in Istanbul, but who will be there?
Pushing back populists
Why so much is riding on Poland’s presidential elections
Outrage on the Oder
Germany’s border controls are annoying the neighbours
Britain
Hate to say it
Britain’s police are restricting speech in worrying ways
Raising the drawbridge
Britain’s experiment with liberal immigration policies is over
Red herrings
When levelling-up comes to town
Better angels
How to prevent drunken punch-ups
Hello shallow
How to build tram lines quickly and cheaply
Bagehot
A world without Nigel Farage
International
The lie-detectors
Fact-checkers forecast which dodgy claims will do most damage
The Telegram
Why Donald Trump is a globalist
Business
The other “everything store”
How Walmart became a tech giant—and took over the world
A turn for the worse
Big pharma’s jumbo profits are under threat in America
Schumpeter
Will OpenAI ever make real money?
Finance & economics
America divided
Why the MAGA economy is thriving
Seeing red or blue
Is the market up or down? Republicans and Democrats disagree
Everyone, everywhere, all at once
How the Chinese Communist Party learnt to love villages
Science & technology
Culture
Child-rearing
Why the best time to be a dad is now
You can go your own way
Travel buddies are out; solo trips are in
Electronics manufacturing
Can Apple extricate itself from China?
Old times on the Mississippi
Mark Twain was a literary celebrity with a moral compass
Economic & financial indicators
Indicators
Economic data, commodities and markets
Obituary
The society of the snow