The false promise of friendshoring
America, China and Europe appear to be trading less with their geopolitical rivals
Each year the 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly vote on dozens of resolutions, earnestly setting the world to rights. Last month, for example, they voted in favour of reducing space threats, eradicating rural poverty and combating dust storms, among other things. The votes count for little. The assembly’s resolutions are not legally binding. Its budgetary powers are small. And it has as many military divisions as the pope.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Opening gambit”
Finance & economics January 27th 2024
- Wall Street titans are betting big on insurers. What could go wrong?
- As China’s markets suffer, what alternatives do investors have?
- Investors may be getting the Federal Reserve wrong, again
- What Donald Trump can learn from the Big Mac index
- Why sweet treats are increasingly expensive
- How American states squeeze athletes (and remote workers)
- The false promise of friendshoring
More from Finance & economics
China meets its official growth target. Not everyone is convinced
For one thing, 2024 saw the second-weakest rise in nominal GDP since the 1970s
Ethiopia gets a stockmarket. Now it just needs some firms to list
The country is no longer the most populous without a bourse
Are big cities overrated?
New economic research suggests so
Why catastrophe bonds are failing to cover disaster damage
The innovative form of insurance is reaching its limits
“The Traitors”, a reality TV show, offers a useful economics lesson
It is a finite, sequential, incomplete information game
Will Donald Trump unleash Wall Street?
Bankers have plenty of reason to be hopeful