Economy

Our coverage of global economics, from inflation-fighting central banks to apprehensive financial markets

The US economy

What’s about to hit the world economy? 

Trumponomics tees off

A hand throwinf the MAGA hat that cuts through the tax increase on corporations.

America Inc is hoping for a tax bonanza. It may be disappointed

Donald Trump’s promise of big tax cuts may not materialise


A Trump hat on a desk at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, United States, November 6th 2024

The return of Trumponomics excites markets but frightens the world

It may bring stronger growth, higher inflation and a global trade war


American men are getting back to work

The ultra-gloomy picture painted by politicians is no longer accurate

America’s economy is bigger and better than ever

Will politics bring it back to Earth?

The American economy has left other rich countries in the dust

Expect that to continue, argue Simon Rabinovitch and Henry Curr

What America’s presidential election means for world trade



China’s economy

Workers including restaurant staff look at their phones during a break while sitting on a bench in Shanghai

Is China really a nation of slackers?

A new survey raises the question

An employee works at the grain reserve warehouse of a soybean processing enterprise

Trump, trade and feeding China’s pigs

As a trade war looms, China looks to cut its reliance on America


Unfinished apartment buildings at Royals Garden, a housing development in Shanghai

China should not wait to stimulate its economy

It is heading into a trade war


China’s stimulus falls short, as a showdown with Trump looms

The country’s rulers may be saving their fiscal ammunition in case of a trade war

China is tightening its grip on the world’s minerals

That is making Western policymakers anxious

Why China may be saving its bazooka for Donald Trump

The Communist Party may be hoarding fiscal firepower to offset a possible trade war  



Russia’s economy

Fighter jets of the Russian Knights aerobatic team are lined up at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China on November 13th 2024

Vladimir Putin is in a painful economic bind

Russia’s reliance on China is becoming a problem

How Vladimir Putin hopes to transform Russian trade

He believes the country’s future lies with China and India. What could go wrong?



How Vladimir Putin created a housing bubble

Prices have risen by 172% in Russia’s biggest cities over the past three years


Asia’s economies

An illustration of silhouetted figures walking up stairs and reaching a plateau at the top.

The surprising stagnation of Asia’s middle classes

It could shake up everything from profits to politics

An illustration of a cardboard box with writing on the side that reads "FROM: THAILAND, TO: USA" with a postage stamp with the colours of the flag of Thailand. Inside are more cardboard boxes with flags of China and Thailand on one of them.

How South-East Asia can weather the Trump trade typhoon

The complacent region could use an outside jolt



How to protect India’s shareholder capitalism from itself

A surge in equity investment is threatened by risky derivatives trading

Donald Trump would leave Asia with only bad options

The continent’s policymakers are too relaxed about the risks

South-East Asia’s stodgy conglomerates are holding it back

The region’s ageing corporate empires are stuck in the past—and too cosy with politicians



Europe’s economies

People swimming at an open air lido.

Britain’s government wants bigger pension funds

That will help savers but won’t boost growth much


An employee works on a car on the assembly line at the BMW Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, USA

Donald Trump is bad news for German business

But some companies will be hit much harder than others


Ireland’s government has an unusual problem: too much money

A tax windfall has added to already overflowing coffers


Data

Three charts show that America’s imports are booming

Here’s why that could spell trouble

A pedestrian carries a McDonald's bag in San Francisco, California,

The Big Mac index: where to buy a cheap hamburger

Meat-eaters may want to avoid Argentina


The world’s richest countries in 2024

Our annual ranking compares economies in three different ways


The economics of American lotteries

Our analysis shows poorer citizens spend a staggering amount on tickets

Where are Europe’s most expensive cities for renters?

Our “Carrie Bradshaw index” moves across the pond

American consumers are finally cheering up

Much to the relief of Joe Biden



Latest coverage

Europe

Once dominant, Germany is now desperate

As an election looms its business model is breaking down

The World Ahead Finance in 2025

India’s economy will soon overtake Japan’s

Will that cause an “India shock” for the world economy?

The World Ahead Finance & economics in 2025

Interest rates will come down sharply in 2025

The global economy has had a series of shocks, including the pandemic, an inflation spike and the invasion of Ukraine. As the dust settles, what has changed?

The World Ahead China in 2025

Can China turn ageing into an economic asset?

The “silver economy” could be a lucrative growth area in 2025

The World Ahead Asia in 2025

Mumbai’s infrastructure extravaganza will soon be revealed

And not before time

The World Ahead Asia in 2025

Will private firms step up to maintain India’s investment splurge?

The government’s reliance on public investment is probably not sustainable

The World Ahead By Invitation: The Americas in 2025

Argentina: the making of an economic miracle?

Governing with economic prudence has revived growth, says Javier Milei, president of Argentina

The World Ahead Europe in 2025

A fiscal squeeze in 2025 will harm Europe’s growth

It will affect politics and the war in Ukraine, too

The World Ahead Britain in 2025

How much will the British economy grow in 2025?

Conditions for economic growth are favourable, but results are uncertain

The World Ahead Economics in 2025

What Donald Trump’s election means for the global economy

His explosive plan for tariffs will damage world trade, but he will struggle to implement it in full

Finance & economics

Vladimir Putin is in a painful economic bind

Russia’s reliance on China is becoming a problem

The World Ahead United States in 2025

America’s economy enters 2025 in great shape

Politics will not spoil it—but Donald Trump’s agenda presents some serious risks

Leaders

China should not wait to stimulate its economy

It is heading into a trade war

Finance & economics

Economists need new indicators of economic misery

Existing measures of discomfort are failing to predict elections

Leaders

What’s about to hit the world economy? 

Trumponomics tees off

Finance & economics

America’s strengthening dollar will rattle the rest of the world

Donald Trump’s policies could send the greenback soaring

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