Finance & economics

Not so civil anymore
How free-market economics reshaped legal systems the world over
Friedrich Hayek’s followers promised growth. They may have overpromised

Buttonwood
Why it is time to retire Dr Copper
The red metal no longer tells investors much about the global economy

Crypto’s future
Will Binance come over to the light side?
With FTX crushed, CZ must decide whether to go along with regulation

War by other means
Israel turns to financial weapons as well as military ones
It is going after Hamas on all fronts

Peak disappointment
China’s economy may be growing faster, but big problems remain
None is more unnerving than the threat of deflation

Nasty headache
China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans
The industry’s covid-era hangover could be about to intensify

Financial diplomacy
Can Egypt be persuaded to accept Gazan refugees?
The country’s economic vulnerability offers leverage

Free exchange
To beat populists, sensible policymakers must up their game
Weak economic growth is dangerous, as a wave of elections next year may show

Buttonwood
Investors should treat analysis of bond yields with caution
The exercise is more like reading tea leaves than scientific endeavour

Bills, bills, bills
Retail investors have a surprising new favourite: Treasury bills
Banks face a fresh form of competition

Floating and sinking
Corporate America faces a trillion-dollar debt reckoning
With interest rates set to stay higher for longer, who will bear the brunt?