How to Tax Businesses in Orbit and Beyond
The Economist examines the emerging challenge of taxing commercial activities beyond Earth as private firms launch satellites, offer space‑based broadband, and plan asteroid mining and tourism. Governments in the United States and Europe are drafting tax rules, including income‑tax treatment for orbital revenues and VAT on space‑derived services. The article highlights jurisdictional gaps in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and the need for new international fiscal frameworks. It warns that without clear policies, revenue leakage and regulatory arbitrage could undermine public finances.
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan Are Suffering Industrial Rot
Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are posting headline‑grabbing export and profit gains, with Taiwan’s GDP expanding 14% and South Korean conglomerates posting a 159% profit surge. Japan’s post‑pandemic exports have grown four times faster than its overall economy, creating the...
The Other China Shock
The article examines the emerging "other China shock," where rising wages and tighter regulations in China are prompting multinational manufacturers to relocate labor‑intensive production to neighboring Asian economies such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Mexico. It traces the historical pattern of...
Economics Lessons From Home Depot
Home Depot, the world’s largest DIY retailer, has long acted as a proxy for the U.S. housing market. Its sales slumped sharply in 2007, foreshadowing the subsequent housing crash, while the chain’s revenues surged after the COVID‑19 pandemic as homeowners...
Investors Fear Another Surge in Inflation
Global bond markets are spiking, with 30‑year government yields hitting record levels: Japan above 4%, the United States over 5%, and Britain nearing 6%. Higher yields translate into steeper borrowing costs for governments and push mortgage rates upward for consumers....
How Much Is Donald Trump Costing America’s Economy?
The Economist estimates the economic drag from Donald Trump’s policy volatility by comparing U.S. growth to peer economies. In 2025, America’s GDP expanded 2.1% while Britain, France, Japan each hovered around 1% and Germany stagnated. Despite trade wars, deportations and...
How to Share the AI Windfall
The Economist argues that traditional tax models—relying on labor and consumption—may falter as AI drives massive productivity gains and potential job losses. It suggests governments should shift revenue sources toward taxing AI‑driven capital, data and automation. Without such reforms, the...
China Wants More Robots but Not Fewer Workers
China is accelerating robot adoption while pledging to keep workers employed, promoting a human‑first automation model. Recent policy papers stress that robots should handle repetitive tasks, freeing humans for supervision, maintenance, and data analysis. The city of Qingdao serves as...
America Is Experiencing a Productivity Miracle
After a decade of stagnant output following the 2007‑09 financial crisis, U.S. productivity has surged, posting an annualized 2.5% growth rate in 2025. The Congressional Budget Office, long‑time pessimist on productivity, upgraded its outlook after the first‑quarter data revealed a...
The Myth of the Petrodollar
The piece debunks the popular “petrodollar” myth, arguing that the U.S. dollar’s global dominance rests on a broader financial architecture rather than solely on oil pricing. It traces the dollar’s hegemony to post‑World War II institutions like Bretton Woods and the...
DeepSeek and Alibaba Rescue China’s Office Landlords
DeepSeek and Alibaba announced large hiring drives in Hangzhou, creating immediate demand for office space and offering a lifeline to landlords struggling with high vacancy rates. A Hangzhou court ruled that firms cannot replace employees with artificial intelligence, reinforcing the...
UniCredit’s Lowball Bid for Commerzbank Causes Consternation
On May 5, 2026 UniCredit announced a bid to acquire the remaining shares of Germany’s Commerzbank, offering shareholders a swap of one Commerzbank share for 0.485 UniCredit shares. The proposal values the entire bank at €35 bn (approximately $41 bn), roughly 8% below...
Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Gets a Muscular Finance Arm
U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Trump‑era sovereign‑loan agency, is rapidly expanding its loan portfolio, now surpassing $50 billion and aiming to match the World Bank’s scale. Ben Black, the DFC’s chief, has been tasked with insuring oil tankers navigating the...
Can Bill Ackman Save the Closed-End Fund?
Activist investor Bill Ackman announced a plan to rescue his struggling closed‑end fund, Pershing Square Holdings, by restructuring its portfolio and adding a liquidity backstop. The proposal includes merging the fund with a newly created holding company that will operate like a...
The EU Wants to Unshackle Its Economy. For Real This Time
The European Union is launching a sweeping regulatory reform agenda aimed at reducing bureaucratic hurdles that have long hampered growth. The plan targets red tape in sectors ranging from technology to manufacturing, promising faster approvals for high‑impact projects like AI‑focused...