Finance & economics

Stretched thin

The World Bank is struggling to serve all 78 poor countries

Bangladesh and Niger are very different places

Monetary kombat

The Federal Reserve takes on Trump—and stubborn inflation

Time for Jerome Powell to enter the octagon

Free exchange

What a censored speech says about China’s economy

If growth is on target, why is inflation so low?

Buttonwood

Bitcoin is up by 138% this year. It is a nonsense-free rally

The link between digital assets and mainstream finance is strengthening

Top of the charts

Which economy did best in 2024?

We rank countries on five measures

Remedial classes required

Are adults forgetting how to read?

A survey by the OECD suggests so

Dream, baby, dream

How much oil can Trump pump?

The president-elect wants to be the ultimate energy baron

Buttonwood

The hidden cost of Chinese loans

Governments that borrow from China must pay more to borrow from others

Another hand

Xi Jinping’s campaign against gambling is a failure

Chinese citizens go to great lengths to bet

Hitting the jackpot

How sports gambling became ubiquitous

Europe is at the centre of the industry’s growth

Free exchange

Cronyism is a problem. But not always an economic one

Research on the topic is surprisingly nuanced

Maladie chronique

France is not alone in its fiscal woes

Deficits look worryingly wide across Europe