Opinion

Europe’s banking sector continues to be shaken by scandals and failures. German public prosecutors are facing demands to bring charges against the German banking arm of Greensill Capital. Germany’s financial regulator, BaFin, has been humiliated by the 3.5 billion euro Wirecard scandal. Serious money laundering cases involving large banks in many euro zone countries have shaken faith in Europe’s bank ...

A frightening second wave of Covid-19 has begun to sweep over the world’s second-biggest nation. Case numbers and deaths are spiking in India, threatening to overwhelm hospital systems; the financial capital Mumbai has re-imposed stringent lockdown rules. The government, which had earned global goodwill by exporting Indian-made vaccines to over 80 countries, is now holding back supplies for domestic use. ...

$68,750: That’s how much my husband and I will be paying in rent over the course of our two-year lease in New York City. It was startling to see the total amount on our agreement — this could buy a home (albeit a fixer upper) in some places in the US or constitute a hefty down payment in others. I ...

Although Hawaii re-opened to tourists in October, it took a combination of spring break and pent-up travel fever before the airports felt close to normal again. By mid-March, the number of arriving domestic passengers exceeded 2020’s anemic levels by 400%. A surge in visitors is undoubtedly good for the state’s hard-hit tourism economy. But is it good for Hawaiians? A ...

Like much of Joe Biden’s presidency to date, the $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan he laid out is remarkably ambitious. Rightly so. America’s economic future is at stake. The country needs a bold new commitment to public investment. The US is visibly falling behind. Any recent traveller to Beijing or Shanghai is struck by how shabby American airports and city grids ...

The cold war is back — or at least its rhetoric. US President Joe Biden wants to forge an “alliance of democracies” against the world’s “autocracies.” The New York Times isn’t alone in thinking that “the world is increasingly dividing into distinct if not purely ideological camps, with both China and the United States hoping to lure supporters.” This would ...

I expect Nike to have little trouble winning its lawsuit against MSCHF, maker of the Satan Shoe, a modified Nike Air Max 97. The footwear was developed in collaboration with the, um, entertainer Lil Nas X, who in his most recent video, as the New York Times deadpans, “gyrates on Satan’s lap.” The entire run of exactly 666 pairs (of ...

When Covid-19 first arrived last year, everyone’s go-to historical parallel was the 1918 influenza pandemic. Precisely because it was so fleeting, it’s hard to find evidence that it caused a sweeping reorientation of everyday life. In its wake, most people simply forgot what happened. Other global pathogens stayed longer and had much bigger impacts on society. Consider what followed the ...

If the February US jobs report signalled that America is truly rounding the final corner on the Covid-19 pandemic, then after a month of ramped up vaccinations and warmer weather, the latest data suggest that the world’s largest economy is now in an all-out sprint to herd immunity and a full reopening. US employers added 916,000 jobs in March, easily ...

Lockdown restrictions are sweeping Europe again. France’s Emmanuel Macron is the latest leader to impose nationwide stay-at-home curbs, closing non-essential businesses, schools and daycare centers. A surge in Covid-19 infections has also forced neighbouring Germany and Italy into Easter shutdowns, as vaccinations still aren’t where they need to be to keep pace with new and more contagious virus variants. These ...