Every new president in the last 30 years has come to office with his party holding a majority in both houses of Congress. Three of those four new presidents lost that power quickly. One or both houses of Congress flipped to the opposition two years later as voters reacted to what they considered the president’s excesses. The exception was George ...

After a summer of hope, Europe looks set for a tragic winter. The dream of keeping the pandemic in check with limited sacrifices is gone. Governments are readying themselves for a new round of tough containment measures. Ireland paved the way a week and a half ago, imposing a national lockdown while keeping schools and essential stores open. France has ...

Beijing’s goal of building a self-reliant technology industry has been elevated to become a strategic pillar, part of the latest five-year plan setting out top national priorities. This means that China is redoubling efforts to wean itself off foreign companies, with the result likely to be a cohort of domestic giants and a slow freeze-out of overseas competitors. Just as ...

There has been much worried Democratic speculation about how the Supreme Court might intervene to hand the election to President Donald Trump. Many scenarios are possible, but one is much more probable than the others. After the Supreme Court ruling blocking late-arriving mail-in ballots from being counted in Wisconsin, we can now say very concretely what the Bush v Gore ...

Bloomberg Democrats are on the brink of capturing the Senate to give the party full control of Congress, though the final outcome depends heavily on the strength of presidential nominee Joe Biden’s performance in Tuesday’s election. Polls and independent analysts indicate Democrats have a solid chance at winning at least a narrow Senate majority, with Republicans on the defensive in ...

Bloomberg New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern has secured the backing of the Green Party for her next term of government. Ardern announced on Saturday that her Labour Party entered a cooperation agreement with the Greens that gives the smaller party two ministerial posts outside cabinet in return for its support on matters of confidence and supply in parliament. Ardern will ...

Bloomberg Ivorians began voting on Saturday in presidential elections the main opposition parties have urged their supporters to boycott because President Alassane Ouattara is seeking a third term in office. Ouattara, 78, looks to be a shoo-in for re-election. He is running against independent candidate Bertin Konan Kouadio, who received less than 4% of ballots in 2015. While Ouattara’s former ...

Bloomberg Tanzanian President John Magufuli was declared the resounding winner of an election that the opposition said was rigged and the US government indicated was seriously flawed. Magufuli, 61, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s candidate, secured 84.4% of valid ballots cast in the October 28 vote, according to the results released by the National Electoral Commission. His main rival, Tundu ...

Bloomberg Typhoon Goni is expected to hit the Philippines earlier than expected on Sunday as it continues to gather strength, according to the Philippine Tropical Cyclone Advisories website. The storm may be upgraded to a super typhoon in the next 12 hours and could make landfall in the eastern provinces of Catanduanes and Camarines early on Sunday, the Philippine Atmospheric, ...

Bloomberg The furlough program deployed by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to avert mass job losses comes to an end as a resurgence of coronavirus leaves the economy vulnerable to another shock. At their height, government wage subsidies protected almost 9 million jobs and the cost has been vast — over 40 billion pounds ($52 billion) at the ...