Finance & economics
Bardella’s potential burden
How bad could things get in France?
The country’s next prime minister faces a brutal fiscal crunch
The great escape
Why house prices are surging once again
In America, Australia and parts of Europe, property markets have shrugged off higher interest rates
Dropping anchor
China’s currency is not as influential as once imagined
Its share of international reserves has stalled
The missing million
The cracks in America’s ultra-strong labour market
With a big discrepancy in jobs data, the economy may be weaker than it seems
The art of the deal
Rumours of the trade deal’s death are greatly exaggerated
Plenty of countries are in a dealmaking rush
Free exchange
Does motherhood hurt women’s pay?
Two new studies suggest not—at least in the long run, and in Scandinavia
Buttonwood
Has private credit’s golden age already ended?
A more competitive market is a less profitable one
The caged bird sings
Donald Trump’s trade hawk is plotting behind bars
Peter Navarro’s dark vision of the global economy could shape Trump 2
In the stocks
China is distorting its stockmarket by trying to prop it up
State purchases of shares are bad enough, but other measures are far more destructive
Equities in Dallas
Want to avoid woke stockmarket rules? List in Texas
The Lone Star State is ready to take on New York
Free exchange
Why global GDP might be $7trn bigger than everyone thought
The discovery has perturbed Chinese officials