2022-08-25-Economist Graphs
1. The world this week
1.1 Politics
1.2 Business
1.3 KAL’s cartoon
2. Leaders
2.1 | Russia, geopolitics and the world economy: Are sanctions on Russia working?
The lessons from a new era of economic warfare
2.2 | Impunity at bay: A brazen kleptocrat has gone to jail in Malaysia. He must stay there
Najib Razak’s comeuppance strengthens the rule of law, but could still be undone
2.3 | Distressing debt: How China should handle its bad loans to poor countries
Time to work with Western creditors
2.4 | Promises and power grabs: Fiddling with constitutions is usually a risky distraction
Most of the time they should be left alone
2.5 | Modification revolution: Science has made a new genetic revolution possible
Now let it flourish
3. Letters
3.1 | On Russia and Ukraine, defence startups, energy bills, China and Taiwan, font selection, leisure time, currency conversions: Letters to the editor
A selection of correspondence
4. By Invitation
4.1 | Russia and Ukraine: The head of GCHQ says Vladimir Putin is losing the information war in Ukraine
Britain’s signals-intelligence service has helped to protect critical infrastructure, says Sir Jeremy Fleming
4.2 | Russia and Ukraine: Charles Knight on how the West can reduce the destructiveness of urban warfare
The military expert says robotics and smoke offer an edge to Western soldiers
5. Briefing
5.1 | Genetic therapy: Gene therapies must become miracles of medicine
Otherwise they might end up a niche treatment for a small number of patients in rich countries
6. Europe
6.1 | The manpower race: Ukraine and Russia both need more soldiers
Who can train them faster?
6.2 | Forging a nation: Ukraine’s defiant independence day mocks Vladimir Putin
The country marks its 31st anniversary even as it fights off Russian invaders
6.3 | Lost in invasion: Russian-speakers in Ukraine are struggling to learn a new tongue
The two languages are more different than Vladimir Putin pretends
6.4 | Charlemagne: As the war in Ukraine drags on, the costs for Europe are mounting
Six months of fighting on its doorstep has strained the EU
7. Britain
7.1 | The bill for the box: Who should pay for the BBC?
The century-old funding mechanism for Britain’s public broadcaster is under attack
7.2 | Electric shock: Britain’s government wants to reform power markets
It would eventually bring down energy bills, but won’t help this winter
7.3 | Bashing the bean-counters: Reducing the power of the Treasury is a good idea
Don’t break it up. But do give departments more freedom
7.4 | A question of solvency: In looser insurance rules, British politicians spy a Brexit dividend
If they expect a torrent of investment, they may be disappointed
7.5 | Highly successful birds: A few bird species are faring amazingly well in Britain
That seems to be making them unpopular
7.6 | Back to school: British parents need more help than ever to afford school uniforms
Schools, suppliers and charities are trying to help
7.7 | Bagehot: Boris Johnson is likely to create many new peers
And in doing so make the House of Lords worse
8. United States
8.1 | Inflation Acceleration Action: Biden spends hundreds of billions on reducing student-loan debt
Good politics, maybe, but poor policy
8.2 | State taxes: States have historic amounts of leftover cash
Some are using it more carefully than others
8.3 | The usual suspects: America’s new “national teacher shortage” is neither new nor national
But it suits both Democrats and Republicans to play it up
8.4 | Secret sauce: Pink Sauce and the fashion for homemade food in America
It has become easier to sell food from home. But the rules can be confusing
8.5 | Housing policy: American cities want rent control to rein in housing costs
Economists still think they are a bad idea
8.6 | A bused people: America’s border crisis reaches New York, by bus
A cruel ploy makes a fair point: immigration demands national attention
9. Middle East & Africa
9.1 | Crumbling authority: The ageing, ailing Palestinian leader does not do much governing
Someone, some day, will have to replace Mahmoud Abbas
9.2 | An alarming smell of gas: Mediterranean gas sends sparks flying between Lebanon and Israel
A row over exploration rights is turning violent
9.3 | Eighty and waity: The world’s oldest crown prince nears the throne of Kuwait
Gerontocracy is holding the emirate back
9.4 | Falling apart: Two ethnic revolts rack Ethiopia at the same time
A country of 120m people is fraying
9.5 | Alms and the boys: Why so many religious students in Nigeria beg in the streets
Many Koranic teachers keep children out of formal schools
10. The Americas
10.1 | Far behind, but gaining: Brazil’s president, lagging in the polls, turns to God and cash
Weeks before an election, Jair Bolsonaro is 15 points behind his rival Lula
10.2 | Kirchner karma: Argentina’s vice-president could face 12 years in prison
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a former president, is accused of corruption
10.3 | Federal offence: Brazil’s governors have been emboldened under Jair Bolsonaro
But their attempts to move into national politics have worked less well
11. Asia
11.1 | 5-0: Malaysia’s disgraced former prime minister is going to prison
Najib Razak is out of appeals and out of luck
11.2 | Party in the back: The mullet’s resurgence divides Australia
The controversial hairstyle is either an embarrassment or a point of national pride—or both
11.3 | Uncertain terms: Thailand’s constitutional court suspends the prime minister
Prayuth Chan-ocha has run the country for eight years. Or is it five? Maybe three?
11.4 | On the back foot: Pakistan’s government wields anti-terror laws against Imran Khan
The former prime minister has made powerful enemies since he was booted from office in April
11.5 | Banyan: South Korea’s president needs to learn the basics
Politics is as much about presentation as policy
12. China
12.1 | Party’s over: Faced with an overseas debt crisis, will China change its ways?
It may have no choice
12.2 | Grumble at your own risk: China’s Communist Party says it welcomes complaints
Just don’t go too far
12.3 | No-fly zone: Most flights into and out of China remain grounded
While the rest of world is flying again
13. International
13.1 | The temptation to tinker: Dictators and utopians are fond of fiddling with constitutions
Both are bad, though for different reasons
14. Business
14.1 | Blasted are the dealmakers: Firms’ unwise addiction to mergers and acquisitions
A bumper year for dealmaking is likely to result in a painful hangover
14.2 | Dragons against hobbits: “Game of Thrones” v “Lord of the Rings”: a tale of old v new Hollywood
A century-old studio wages a big-budget war against a streaming upstart
14.3 | Heated exchange: A drought in China hits industry
The ill effects of hot weather and drought
14.4 | Bartleby: Is travelling to work always a waste of time?
In defence of commuting
14.5 | Tropical Depression: South-East Asia’s tech firms take a battering
Low investment is compounded by turn against unprofitable growth stocks
14.6 | Sending it back: A tidal wave of returns hits the e-commerce industry
For retailers it is a tricky and expensive problem
14.7 | Schumpeter: Could the demonised oil industry become a force for decarbonisation?
That may be what Warren Buffett sees in Occidental Petroleum
15. Finance & economics
15.1 | A one-way ticket to nowhere: Western sanctions will eventually impair Russia’s economy
The most potent are the least talked about
15.2 | Mates’ rates: The connection between Russian sanctions and bizarre Turkish monetary policy
Russian cash has uses beyond the obvious
15.3 | Grin and bear it: Why the Russian economy keeps beating expectations
Few thought it would be holding up six months into the war
15.4 | Commodities: Against expectations, global food prices have tumbled
Why the war in Ukraine has caused less disruption than feared
15.5 | Animal spirits: The hedge-fund manager who embodied an era
Julian Robertson was a jock; today’s funds are run by nerds
15.6 | Free exchange: How to avoid energy rationing
Politicians should pay attention to the latest economic literature
16. Science & technology
16.1 | GM soya and photosynthesis: A genetic tweak that makes soya plants 20% more productive
It improves their ability to photosynthesise
16.2 | Electric vehicles: Swappable batteries for electric vans and lorries make sense
Car drivers, though, will probably want to keep recharging
16.3 | Sulphur and oil: In the world of greenery, no good deed goes unpunished
Reducing oil consumption may make sulphur production more polluting
16.4 | The Space Launch System: NASA’s Space Launch System is yesterday’s rocket
It is powered by yesterday’s technology and brought about by yesterday’s thinking
17. Culture
17.1 | Monumental art: A vast sculpture in the Nevada desert is finished at last
Was Michael Heizer’s “City” worth 50 years of effort?
17.2 | Urban fiction: In Amit Chaudhuri’s new novel, an Indian writer visits Berlin
The narrator of “Sojourn” takes in the city as his inner self crumbles
17.3 | Home Entertainment: Revisit the musings of the greatest writer in the German language
A new edition of “Conversations with Goethe” attests to his genius and charisma
17.4 | There will be blood: An epic history of oil from ancient times to the first world war
There are few clean hands in “A Pipeline Runs Through It”
17.5 | Immigration and xenophobia: When Klansmen in Texas targeted Vietnamese fishermen
The tensions in “The Fishermen and the Dragon” are queasily topical today
17.6 | Johnson: The struggle to preserve regional languages
Activists in the Basque Country and elsewhere have triumphed—within limits
18. Economic & financial indicators
18.1 Economic data, commodities and markets
19. Graphic detail
19.1 | Diversity training: Workplace diversity programmes often fail, or backfire
Many may do more to protect against litigation than to reduce discrimination
20. The Economist explains
20.1 What is at stake at Ukraine’s Zaporizhia nuclear plant
20.2 Why has polio returned to London and New York?
21. Obituary
21.1 | What freedom means: Albert Woodfox found his true self in prison
The man who endured the longest period of solitary confinement in American prison history died on August 5th, aged 75
