Philippa Kaur

An “era of rearmament” is under way in Europe, declared Armin Papperger, the boss of Rheinmetall, earlier this year. Investors in Germany’s defence champion certainly seem to think so. Since the start of the year its market value has rocketed from €27bn ($31bn) to €80bn, equivalent to 90 times its annual net profit and within shooting distance of Lockheed Martin, an American defence colossus. The values of other large European defence contractors, including Britain’s BAE Systems, France’s Thales and Italy’s Leonardo, have also soared (see chart 1). More

A new kind of instant gratification is catching on in India. Urban consumers, who have grown accustomed to groceries and gadgets arriving within minutes, can now order slimmer waistlines almost as quickly. Online pharmacies promise same-day delivery of weight-loss injections, and demand is booming. In March Eli Lilly, an American drugmaker, began selling Mounjaro, its obesity treatment, in India. A month’s supply costs about $180—a quarter of the price in America, though still steep for most Indians. Even so, by September it was the country’s second-bestselling branded medicine. More

CAN ANYTHING stop America Inc? As the biggest companies in the world’s biggest economy start rolling out their latest results, the answer appears to be an emphatic “Get out of the way!” Analysts reckon that big businesses’ net profits grew for the ninth straight quarter. Short-sellers who had bet that President Donald Trump’s seemingly anti-growth and pro-inflation policies on trade and immigration would cause America Inc to careen into a ditch are instead themselves resembling roadkill. The S&P 500 index of blue-chip stocks has risen by 14% this year, creating nearly $8trn in shareholder value. Vroom! More

Broadcasters still crave live sport. Take America’s National Basketball Association (NBA), whose new season, with a new rights deal, began on October 21st. ESPN, NBC and Amazon are paying a combined $76bn over 11 years to screen the league, smashing the old per-season rate. At that price (passed on to subscribers) the deal is also sure to maintain demand for pirated broadcasts. A study in 2021 suggested that the world’s sports leagues might bring in an extra $28bn a year if pirate sites were shut down. But data analysis and the rise of content creators are providing ways for leagues to hit back. More

Zohran Mamdani is a very good campaigner. At a rally in Washington Heights this month, the Democratic nominee to become mayor of New York City conducts a call-back of his main policy pledges. “We’re going…freeze the…,” he begins. “Rent!” shouts the enthusiastic crowd. “Buses should be fast and…” “Free!” “All shall have…” “Prizes!” (This last one is made up.) More

In a year when most stockmarkets have impressed, South Korea’s has dropped jaws. In 2025 the KOSPI 200 index has risen by 69% (in won) to a record high, trouncing the 15% notched by America’s S&P 500. Artificial-intelligence hype has helped, especially for big chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. But the main reason is a state-backed effort to “value up” the country’s firms—ie, improve their wretched corporate governance and eradicate the “Korea discount” on their stocks. More

IN THE USUALLY gossipy world of Silicon Valley, something strange is happening. It is hard to find a generative artificial-intelligence entrepreneur with a bad word to say about anyone. This may be an age thing. Many of those launching AI startups were born after sci-fi dystopias like “The Matrix” (né 1999) and are young enough to still believe AI will be a force for good for everyone. To them, even the word “frenemy” sounds too red in tooth and claw.  More

THE MERCENARY, wrote Niccolò Machiavelli, was “useless and dangerous”. He was “unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies”. A private soldier would turn and flee when trouble arrived. “They have no other attraction or reason for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.” Yet, 500 years later, the business of private military companies (PMCs), to deploy the modern euphemism, is thriving. More