Analysis & Opinion

What was lost in China’s stock market slide

In their attempts to prop up share prices, the authorities abandoned all pretence of respecting market forces. Worse still, their efforts were visibly ineffective. The debacle undermines China’s reputation for competent economic management. It may also set back broader reforms.

Why Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas thinks drugs should be legalized

Prohibition was a failure in the 1920s, and, for similar reasons, the so-called war on drugs has been a disaster. Forty years after Richard Nixon declared this war, consumption worldwide is up, violence has increased and the rule of law has collapsed, especially in Latin America.

Baltimore: It’s so much worse than you think

Two months after the death of Freddie Gray, most questions remain unanswered. It is widely conceded in the city that it will be a long, long time before any of this is resolved.

Why Russia’s turn to China is a mirage

China and Russia are often depicted as having closed ranks in response to the Ukraine crisis. But they've made little progress in the bilateral economic and financial projects that they've announced with considerable fanfare.