One of my great concerns about the pandemic was that it would hinder the global mobility of people and labour, perhaps permanently. Unfortunately, my worst fears are being realised: As Covid mutates, it is affecting not only tourism and business travel but migration more generally. Consider that after the end of the Vietnam War, the US took in more than ...

After years spent driving many conventional retailers into bankruptcy, Amazon just announced plans to open its own physical “department stores” that would sell both its own private-label good as well as brand-name apparel, housewares and other items. The move may seem counterintuitive, even self-defeating. But in pursuing this strategy, Amazon is merely following a playbook developed by its forerunners, particularly ...

So much for a changing of the guard in Malaysia. The new governing coalition looks a lot like the one that collapsed last week amid defections, record Covid-19 cases and a diminished outlook for economic recovery. The resemblance doesn’t bode well for the durability of PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration. Ismail Sabri, a former deputy premier, was sworn in by ...