A woman walks past an electronic board displaying graphs showing recent movements of Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo May 23, 2013. Japan's Nikkei stock average tumbled 3.7 percent on Thursday, in a dramatic turnaround from a 5-1/2-year high hit in morning trade and was on track for its biggest daily drop in two years, as weak Chinese factory activity data rattled investors. ©Reuters 7:39pm

Investors seem to ignore the real world

A recovery in the global economy would appear to be hallucinatory, writes Stephen King

A U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle assigned to the California Air National Guard's 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies near the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, ©Reuters 7:34pm

Obama and the one-sided drone war

The president has shed light on non-battlefield targeted killings, writes Micah Zenko

May 22, 2013

How to make big groups play fair on tax

Businesses should be assessed on where they make their sales, writes Michael Devereux

David Cameron ©Getty May 21, 2013

Cameron is no longer a winner

Activists who picked the PM in 2005 to end a losing streak now regret it, writes Tim Bale

A worker climbs outside an Apple store in Hong Kong April 10, 2013 ©Reuters May 21, 2013

Tax probes not Apple’s biggest worry

The tech group’s main problems are slowing sales and shrinking margins, writes Farhad Manjoo

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during a graduation ceremony at the National Defense Academy in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture ©AFP May 21, 2013

Abenomics will cause regional damage

Japan is rubbing salt into the wounds of China, Taiwan and South Korea, writes David Li

gold bars ©AP May 20, 2013

Cheap money is still scarce in the Brics

Leaders from India to South Africa struggle to attract capital flows, says Ruchir Sharma

Big data illustration by Oliver Polanski ©Oliver Polanski May 20, 2013

Markets are at risk of a ‘big data’ crash

Regulation needs to adapt to computerised details, write Maureen O’Hara and David Easley

MELTING ICEBERG DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING ©AP May 19, 2013

Beijing’s Arctic goals are not to be feared

China’s motives in the region concern climate change, trade and resources, says Linda Jakobson

May 19, 2013

Britain needs a broader debate over cuts

The country faces hard choices over public spending– on whether to continue with ring fences, says Paul Johnson

May 19, 2013

China’s national problems start locally

Appeals for financial restraint and prudent investment behaviour have failed, says George Magnus

Undercover Economist May 17, 2013

Mile-high bid to step up to a better class

Auctions seem a fine way of assessing willingness to pay, writes Tim Harford

May 17, 2013

The name’s Bond. I’m a programmer

The world of cyber espionage is moving out of the shadows, writes Chris Morgan-Jones

May 17, 2013

Dangerous talk of Frogs and the Boche

‘National characteristics’ say less about those seen than those who see them, writes Tony Barber

May 16, 2013

Only one voter matters in Iran

Ayatollah Khamenei will decide on the next president, writes Ray Takeyh

The A-List May 16, 2013

US needs a better kind of scandal

The Benghazi and IRS stories are not solid enough to stick, writes Jacob Weisberg

May 15, 2013

London must be free to tax and spend

Other capital cities have a wider tax base and more freedom to set rates, says Tony Travers

May 15, 2013

France should face up to its fears

The realisation of what is needed explains the people’s profound anxiety, writes Maurice Lévy

May 15, 2013

Brown-Vitter cannot fix US banks by itself

Regulators are urging one thing and legislating for another, writes Mark Roe

May 14, 2013

Iceland’s election is a signal to Europe

Can any politician meet the expectations of Europe’s voters, asks Steingrímur Sigfússon