Biden’s big gamble: What a $1.9 trillion stimulus means for the world economy
The world this week
Leaders
The world economy
Joe Biden’s stimulus is a high-stakes gamble for America and the world
It is part of a three-pronged economic experiment
Politics
How to renew America’s democracy
A dose of voting reform, and scrapping the filibuster, would help
Needle to know
How useful are vaccine passports?
Identity schemes have a part to play in the return to life as normal, but only a modest one
First, stigmatise it
Some ideas for reducing violence against women
Norms and laws need to change. Cash would help, too
The transformation of retailing
21st-century consumers will change capitalism for the better
New shopping behaviours should be welcomed, not feared
Growing apart
How Britain can benefit from Brexit
Damage is inevitable, but there are ways of mitigating it
Letters
On innovation, Charles II of Spain, touching, travel, beliefs
Letters to the editor
Briefing
Motion to dismiss
The filibuster is an oddity that harms American democracy
And it does not even stem from the constitution
50%+1 is enough for most things
Most democracies see only a limited role for supermajorities
18th-century Poland provides a cautionary tale
Europe
Demolition Draghi
Italy’s new prime minister upends the country’s political parties
A disaster foretold
After a year, Berlin’s experiment with rent control is a failure
Red in bed with yellow and green
The many colours of German coalitions
Gotta find ’em all
European censuses are being disrupted by covid-19
Britain
That interview
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take on the firm
By royal disappointment
The royal interview puts racism in Britain back in the spotlight
Farming and the pandemic
Less barley, more deer: how covid-19 is changing rural Britain
Middle East & Africa
Ghost ships and dollar scrip
Why some ships vanish before unloading in the Middle East
A country divided
Ten years of war have broken Syria into pieces
Botching the beacon
The arrest of an opposition leader sparks protests in Senegal
A gift seldom given
Niger’s president wins the Ibrahim African leadership prize
Guns, terms and stealing power
A power grab by Somalia’s president has tipped it into crisis
Keyboard surfers
Remote working is a lifeline for Kenya’s beach resorts
United States
Heads we win, tails you cheated
America’s battle over election laws
Harassment of the press
Press freedom under pressure
White shoes and slot machines
Tribes of the Hamptons
Taking stock of Stockton
A Californian experiment in the provision of guaranteed income returns its first results
The Americas
Hostage diplomacy
Only America can break the deadlock between Canada and China
The dogs are all right
In Mexico, nurseries are shut but doggy day care is open
Back in the game
Lula, a former president of Brazil, could run again in 2022
Asia
Getting off lightly
India seems to have suffered surprisingly few deaths from covid-19
China
Democracy, China’s way
To crush democracy, China is changing Hong Kong’s political rules
International
A terrible toll
Violence against women is a scourge on poor countries
Hope for tomorrow
Nicaragua shows how poor countries can reduce domestic violence
Special report
The future of shopping
The return of one-to-one commerce
The marketplace
E-commerce profits may become harder to make
The merchants
The rise of the rebel brands
The travelling salesmen
Independent retailers may choose multiple sales channels
The food stall
The importance of "omnichannel" strategies
Mass craftsmanship
How to know what customers want
The future
Welcome to democratised retail
Business
Japanese business
A reluctant Japan Inc at last enters the digital age
Finance & economics
The $3trn question
The world’s consumers are sitting on piles of cash. Will they spend it?
Lies, damned lies and implied lies
China’s budget forecast is more informative than its growth target
Shots fired
The many guises of vaccine nationalism
Polar silk road
Warmer Arctic waters could turn the tides in LNG markets
Free exchange
The perils of asking central banks to do too much
Science & technology
Papers, please
Are vaccine passports a good idea?
Culture
Democracy in Turkey
A coup of 60 years ago still casts a shadow over Turkish politics
The poisoner’s tale
Sergei Lebedev explores the effects of poison, real and metaphorical
Ballroom dancing
The lost and future glamour of a Shanghai ballroom
A room of their own
When the Barbizon was New York’s smartest women-only hotel
Economic & financial indicators
Graphic detail
One size fits few
Our covid-19 model estimates odds of hospitalisation and death
Obituary
The pain of displacement