The Economist

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Trump’s tariff mayhem has been a blessing for shippers

Mariners know that the sea can be harsh, unpredictable and sometimes destructive. After weathering a pandemic and attacks by Houthi rebels that all but closed the vital trade route through the Suez...

Can Grab and GoTo forge a South-East Asian tech champion?

The promise of South-East Asia has long been obvious to venture capitalists. Its young and growing population of 700m is becoming richer and more urbanised. And they are poorly served by stodgy...

The Gulf’s oil giants risk becoming sprawling conglomerates

“ARAMCO has always been far more than just an oil producer.” So said Amin Nasser, chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s petro-colossus, earlier this year. Mr Nasser has lofty ambitions for the world’s...

The dark horse of AI labs

Perhaps it is inevitable that Anthropic, an artificial-intelligence (AI) lab founded by do-gooders, attracts snark in Silicon Valley. The company, which puts its safety mission above making money, has an in-house philosopher...

Airlines’ favourite new pricing trick

Airlines have long been champions of price discrimination. To fatten their notoriously slim profit margins, they have developed what are known as “fare fences”, based on factors such as whether or not...

China’s smartphone champion has triumphed where Apple failed

Ever since he co-founded Xiaomi in 2010, Lei Jun, the chief executive of the Chinese tech giant, has pulled off feat after feat of salesmanship. A decade ago he earned a Guinness...

Kraft Heinz is not the only food giant in trouble

When Warren Buffett, a venerable investor, and 3G Capital, a private-equity firm, merged Kraft and Heinz in 2015 to create a packaged-food heavyweight, consumers’ appetite for its colourful condiments, sugary snacks and...

Are superstars as good when they move jobs?

The competition for the world’s best AI talent is frenzied. Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, has personally taken charge of efforts to recruit for a “superintelligence” lab. The sums on offer...

The Economist

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