How is the Chinese economy doing these days? Start by asking Louis Vuitton, whose flagship Beijing boutique boasted record sales in August.
Tag: covid-19
It’s now been four months since most of the world reached the agreement that Sweden’s no-quarantine strategy had failed. In the end, it was the only European country to never go into lockdown, and as the virus spread inside nursing homes, Sweden’s death toll raced beyond that of its Northern neighbors to eventually pass the […]
The halting of AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial is not only a reminder of the challenge of finding a cure, but will feed growing public mistrust of states and scientists.
In both Okinawa and Iwakuni, locals worry that American soldiers and their families are importing the virus and not doing enough to contain it.
Joblessness is soaring in the western Asian nation, particularly among women, who are far more likely than men to be cut loose by employers.
The coronavirus outbreak has changed our relationship with work, health and… cash. The fear of contamination while handling coins and banknotes has accelerated a trend that had already been growing for years: contactless payments. Both consumers and businesses that may have been previously reluctant to go digital are changing their preferred payment methods. Does this […]
As borders closed and lockdowns were rolled out around the world, the steady flow of illegal immigration that has plagued southern Europe for years was also temporarily halted. But new arrivals are now accelerating again, and some of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic are now also forced to deal with a worsening refugee […]
There’s been plenty of finger-pointing during the pandemic. But does calling someone out for being ‘reckless’ and ‘irresponsible’ actually effect positive change?
Social distancing, disinfecting common areas and accessing health care: All three key tactics for curbing the spread of coronavirus are particularly complicated inside jails and prisons. While it might seem like an already self-isolating bubble, life inside prisons has changed dramatically since COVID-19 arrived. In an effort to keep healthy, many have lost their rights […]
Consumer habits shifted dramatically as people sheltered in place. In-person shopping is picking up again, but everything’s still in flux for sellers, who will have to adapt or say ‘adios.’
French President Emmanuel Macron is among those demanding that an eventual vaccine be available to all. But there’s also money in play, and a market guided by a whole different set of priorities.
In developed countries, this long period of self-isolation has caused waistlines to bulge — a serious matter, especially since obesity is a clear COVID-19 risk factor.
As the novel coronavirus races its way around the world, we are also witnessing a rush of changes in the delivery industry. No longer just an option, delivery has all but become a necessity during the pandemic, and the sector as a whole has proven itself extremely adaptive. From creative innovations to corporations venturing into […]
The powers that be responded to the pandemic with an array of life-altering directives that, to an astonishing degree, people quietly accept. So what happens next?
In the rush to vilify ‘irresponsible’ young people, we too often overlook the efforts they’re making every day to help us through the pandemic and make the world a better place.
It’s official: Zoom parties are here to stay. And to anyone who ever attended an actual party, no need here to spell out why there’s no comparison. Yet there I was last week in a text exchange with a friend turning down my invitation to our bi-weekly drinks at my … er … place, suggesting […]
From Bali to Mexico and everywhere in between, countries that have come to rely on a steady stream of tourism revenue are experiencing serious fallout from the pandemic.
Contagion fears and extreme attachment to the internet are reinforcing that most traditional of moral injunctions
Rather than offer discounts, high-end brands like Chanel are asking even more for their products. Silvia Ihring, style editor-at-large for German daily Die Welt, explains why.
The pandemic is putting the squeeze on hospitals and clinics, and making things particularly difficult — and dangerous — for pregnant women.
The super rich are buying residency papers and passports from places like Cyprus and Vanuatu to be able to travel — despite quarantines — for health reasons, business or pleasure.
Even if researchers’ quest for the coronavirus vaccine concludes quickly — and that’s a big if — the solution would still need to me manufactured, packaged, paid for and distributed.
Summer is normally the time for France’s immigrants or their descendants from Algeria, Senegal and other African countries to head back to the home country. This year? Not so much.
Real estate markets are starting to stir from their Covid-induced slumber. After months of plummeting listings and frozen transactions, new deals are finally being made and prices have begun to recover. But the extent to which real estate will share the longer-term pain of a global economic downturn is still unclear, with some predicting that […]
In the race to to find a cure, scientists are rushing to release their study results. There are dangers in skipping the standard peer-review procedures, but they may be outweighed by the benefits.
How is the pandemic panning out in the world’s second most populous country? Science editor for The Wire, Vasudevan Mukunth, offers some statistical insight.
PARIS — It was only back in May that experts palmed off the 12-month goal post for a COVID-19 vaccine as wishful thinking. Now, with more than 140 candidate vaccines being developed, including three already in the final phase-3 trial, it seems we may be sprinting towards a new speed record in medical development. “The […]
Throwback ideas and the next big thing are working for some, even as many other parts of the economy slide into recession.
The jury’s still out on whether COVID-19 can be transmitted sexually. But there’s no doubt that it has made many people more cautious about intimacy.
COVID-19 makes us think about things we should’ve been thinking about anyway. And since the beginning of the outbreak, we’ve all been keeping a closer eye than usual on the hard truths of statistics: From daily global emissions (down by 17%) to the number of precarious workers in the world (1.6 billion), as well as […]
For some, France’s strict shelter-in-place period sank their relationships. Others say it helped. Either way, couples in the would-be land of romance found themselves at a real crossroads.
Face mask policy has been a moving target since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With some countries and localities facing shortages, and the World Health Organization itself initially suggesting that masks were not effective in containing the spread of the virus, governments were reluctant to implement rules to force people to wear face coverings. But since, […]
The South American nation has the second highest number of coronavirus fatalities in the world (after the United States), and with ICU beds in short supply, the death toll will continue to rise.
The Covid-19 crisis is likely to reshape globalization while benefiting China and other ‘illiberal’ regimes.
An outright ban on wildlife trade may exacerbate the situation. Could carefully controlling these animal markets be the best answer?
PARIS — Growing up in Chicago, one of my favorite books was From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the story of a brother and sister who run away to live in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Even as a kid, I could sense what a rare treat it could be to […]
Containing the COVID-19 outbreak came at a huge cost in terms of earnings and employment. And no one is taking a harder hit than China’s tens of millions of migrant workers.
As coronavirus shut down businesses around the world, red-light districts from Amsterdam to Bangkok to Frankfurt turned off their lights. But many continued to work illegally, risking infection and potential legal consequences in order to support themselves. As one Dutch sex worker told Die Welt, “The confinement does not mean that people stopped wanting sex.” […]
-Analysis- NEW DELHI — In a discussion on NDTV about the contents of the third tranche of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s stimulus package for the economy, Yogendra Yadav, one of India’s most respected psephologists, called it “entertainment.” Yadav is a gentle human being who goes out of his way to avoid giving offense, above all on TV. So “entertainment” was the most civilized word he could think of. I will be a little more blunt. Not just the third tranche, but the entire “stimulus package” advertised by Modi on May 12 is a gigantic confidence trick being played upon a […]
Some researchers advocate shortening the procedure for clinical trials to develop a vaccine by infecting healthy volunteers with the live virus. This ‘challenge infection’ method raises an ethical dilemma.