Immigration is back, in the US at least. Over the past two and a half years, immigration into the American labour market has increased by 4mn workers, and the working age immigrant population has now finally reached its pre-pandemic trend level. This is likely to be a central factor in strong employment growth, particularly in
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in a hurry. Since he took office for a historic third term just over 100 days ago, the Brazilian leader has been desperate to stamp his mark on the presidency and undo the rightward shift that Latin America’s largest country took under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. In his four-year
The writer is a professor in the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala University and author of ‘Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World’ Amid all the recent turmoil in energy markets, a significant transaction went largely under the radar: the January 2023 acquisition of a controlling share of
India: Several three-day meetings begin under India’s G20 presidency: the health working group gathers in Goa, the digital economy working group meets in Hyderabad and chief agricultural scientists convene in Varanasi. The two-day G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting begins in Shillong. Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Somnath to inaugurate the Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam, a
China is starting to target western interests in the country after five years of snowballing trade and technology restrictions spearheaded by the US under presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Over the past two months, Chinese officials have slapped new sanctions on US weapons companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, launched an investigation into US chipmaker
The Bank of England is considering a major overhaul of its deposit guarantee scheme, including boosting the amount covered for businesses and forcing banks to pre-fund the system to a greater extent to ensure faster access to cash when a lender collapses. The UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme is being urgently reviewed after the rapid
China’s $1tn Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure finance programme has been hit by spiralling bad loans, with more than $78bn-worth of borrowing turning sour over the past three years. The scheme made China the world’s largest bilateral creditor, but the figures suggest it has become a financial millstone for Beijing and its biggest banks. About
The fighting that has erupted in Sudan between the country’s armed forces and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces pits the president against his vice-president in a struggle for control of Africa’s third-largest country. Both men had emerged as leaders of the transitional government after a 2019 coup that ousted Omar al-Bashir,
The wave of strikes that has swept the UK is hitting the economy harder than initially expected — and the disruption is set to continue, as health and teaching unions lay plans for industrial action that could stretch until Christmas. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt argues that while the impact of NHS strikes on patients is “incredibly
The writer is a former CIA analyst and author of ‘Damascus Station’ At first glance, the long-rumbling Syrian conflict and the front-page war in Ukraine have little in common. The former is a multi-sided civil war fought in the Middle East, while the latter is a contest between states at the gates of Europe. But
More than 50 civilians have died and hundreds more were injured in Sudan as intense fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary group continued for a second day. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a pro-democracy non-governmental group, put the total number of civilian deaths at 56 as of Sunday morning, with “dozens” of military personnel
It is “the economy, stupid”. James Carville coined this phrase in Bill Clinton’s campaign of 1992. He was right. The economy is not everything. But it is almost everything. Modern democracy itself would not have been born if it were not for the opportunities created by sustained growth. Political stability, too, depends on the positive-sum
Poland and Hungary have temporarily halted imports of Ukrainian grain despite a warning from Brussels that such unilateral action would contravene EU trade policy. After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, the EU scrapped customs duties and quotas on Ukrainian grain imports and rerouted some shipments from blockaded Black Sea ports via Polish
Nurses strikes in England could continue until Christmas if the government does not return with a higher pay offer for the NHS, the leader of the Royal College of Nursing said on Sunday, as health employers warned that further walkouts would pose significant risks to patient safety. Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, told
Companies have committed more than $200bn to US manufacturing projects since Congress passed sweeping subsidies last year, as president Joe Biden’s effort to spark a new industrial revolution gains momentum. The investment in semiconductor and clean tech investments is almost double the commitments made in the same sectors in the whole of 2021, and nearly
A rise in the number of costly apprenticeships given to older employees has led to fears that younger workers are being excluded from the UK government’s flagship training scheme. The proportion of over-25s starting apprenticeships increased from 43 per cent in 2015 to 47 per cent last year, according to government figures. Meanwhile, the number
The head of the IMF’s Africa department has called for a significant increase in international support to help countries overcome a funding squeeze that is jeopardising the continent’s economic development. Abebe Selassie told the Financial Times that reform of the current mechanisms for dealing with unsustainable debts of African countries was “desperately needed”. “Do we
On one side will be around 35,000 Ukrainian soldiers, bolstered by western battle tanks. They will face more than 140,000 enemy troops along a 950km frontline. Separating the two forces will be a deadly obstacle course of mines, earthworks and tank-stopping bollards set by the Russians. The day is soon approaching when Ukraine will attempt
The author is managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group The French-German “motor” that has been at the EU’s heart for six decades has broken down. The biggest culprit is the new government in Berlin. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is mostly concerned with the unity of his coalition and Germany’s economy. If he lifts his head
Congratulations might be in order: I now have a side hustle. It’s my very own new line in part-time work, bringing variety to the mid-life grind. But keep the champagne on ice — it turns out it’s a job nobody wants: dealing with the admin that follows a bereavement. We lost my beloved Dad just
US climate envoy John Kerry has defended the United Arab Emirates against “unfair” criticism of its role as the host of this year’s COP28 conference in Dubai, saying it was important to bring oil-producing nations into the UN environment talks. Climate campaigners have been increasingly critical of the growing influence of the global fossil fuel