If American investors can incur losses in a given tax year by putting money into tax-aware accounts, they can offset gains elsewhere in their portfolio and reduce their tax bills. There are a few ways for them to do this https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/10/06/in-search-of-tax-alpha?taid=6acb75930941d100015ac468&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

As the West closes its doors, India must make staying home more attractive https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/10/11/the-limits-of-indias-diaspora-power?taid=6acb720fa21eb900011ee602&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Italy’s deputy prime minister likened voting for a responsible mainstream party to choosing a woman who wears long skirts as a wife. Opposition MPs protested by showing up to parliament in miniskirts https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/10/09/italys-politicians-are-obsessed-with-short-skirts?taid=6acb70e2e3cb670001f77781&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Junk food is convenient, cheap and hard to resist. Yet against these daunting advantages governments have found a formidable array of counter-measures https://bit.ly/3VyaY5n

Photo: Alamy

Britons are accustomed to broken systems and disappointing leaders. Their reaction to the Manchester City football affair is unsurprising https://www.economist.com/business/2026/10/08/footballs-latest-scandal-inspires-apathy-rather-than-anger?taid=6acb67825a7e00000147aa00&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

It’s tricky to make a good drama about the tech world. In our weekend watchlist, we recommend stories about technology that you’ll actually click with https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/10/09/what-to-watch-this-week?taid=6acb652b5a7e00000147a9f0&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Insects cannot escape conditions that may no longer allow them to survive and reproduce. British conservationists might have found a way to guide bugs around https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/10/08/conservationists-are-building-highways-for-bugs?taid=6acb62d2e3cb670001f77739&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Courts across America are hearing arguments over whether chatbots have harmed people or facilitated crimes. By the time such cases are decided, the damage may already be done https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/10/08/liability-law-will-not-tame-ai?taid=6acb5e25e3cb670001f7771d&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Every organisation has an idle period when getting things done seems all but impossible. Europe may be entering such a period, but one that will last the best part of a year https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/10/08/europes-lame-duck-year-could-hardly-come-at-a-worse-time?taid=6acb59725a7e00000147a9b0&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Should their purity spiral over Palestine continue, it may eventually leave the party without a leader—and without voters https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/10/08/britains-greens-are-now-a-hard-left-antisemitic-party?taid=6acb54c2a21eb900011ee56b&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

On the presidential level, “to be a successful Democrat, you have to be fairly overtly religious”. @JohnPrideaux looks at Christianity and the Democratic Party, on “Checks and Balance” https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/10/09/the-christian-vote?taid=6acb5013e3cb670001f776d1&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

A group of Indian states—call it “Industrial Pradesh”—adds some $240bn of manufacturing value a year, half of India’s total. Its experience holds a number of lessons for the country as a whole https://www.economist.com/business/2026/10/08/indian-manufacturings-moment-may-finally-have-arrived?taid=6acb4b62ffde4f000182f7ab&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Astronomers realised that neutrinos’ reluctance to interact with matter made them ideal cosmic messengers. Still, there was the problem of how to detect them. Register for free to read about Francis Halzen’s Nobel prize-winning work https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/10/06/a-nobel-for-the-strangest-telescope-ever-built?taid=6acb46b2e3cb670001f776b7&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Once upon a time in Greenwich Village, a couple wrote a children’s book about two male penguins who raised a chick. Almost 20 years on, “The Weekend Intelligence” podcast learns why “And Tango Makes Three” is banned from some American schools https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/10/10/and-tango-makes-three?taid=6acb420a8ff35e000139a898&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

This year’s Nobel prize in physics honours research into ghostly particles that shed light on the distant universe. Listen to our analysis, on “Babbage” https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/10/07/the-2026-nobel-prizes-for-science?taid=6acb3d597a4b4a000136267b&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The independent-minded heroine of “Jane Eyre”, who rejects two proposals before ultimately marrying and bearing a son, has a thing or two to teach young Chinese, thinks the Communist Party. We explain why https://www.economist.com/china/2026/10/08/china-wants-teenagers-to-read-a-classic-english-novel?taid=6acb38a8329a7f00017789bd&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The number of students a country has abroad in part reflects its engagement with the world. We explain why young Chinese increasingly prefer to study at home https://www.economist.com/china/2026/08/06/why-ever-fewer-young-chinese-study-abroad?taid=6acb3400c6ee1a000105bb87&utm_campaign=editorial-social&utm_content=discovery.content&utm_medium=social-media.content.np&utm_source=twitter

France is no stranger to student demonstrations. The current ones turned violent particularly rapidly. That is in part because the populist left is egging them on https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/10/08/arson-at-the-school-gate-and-tear-gas-on-the-streets?taid=6acb2f487195f10001afd316&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The country introduced “golden week” holidays in 1999 to boost consumption in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. They have been a fillip to the tourism industry, but are a dampener on public morale https://www.economist.com/china/2026/10/08/in-china-people-get-unusually-long-public-holidays?taid=6acb2a997a4b4a0001362648&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Gone are the days when fashionistas worth their Vogue subscription wore Lululemon leggings for the coffee run, school run or just to run. Hotter rivals are gaining ground https://www.economist.com/business/2025/09/04/how-lululemon-fell-out-of-fashion?taid=6acb25ee7a4b4a000136263f&utm_campaign=editorial-social&utm_content=discovery.content&utm_medium=social-media.content.np&utm_source=twitter