Data points.

After the go-go 1990s and 2000s the pace of economic integration stalled in the 2010s, as rms grappled with the aftershocks of a nancial crisis, a populist revolt against open borders and President Donald Trump's trade war. No one knew if globalisation faced a blip or extinction. Now the pandemic and war in Ukraine have triggered a once-in-a-generation reimagining of global capitalism. Everywhere you look, supply chains are being transformed, from the $9tr in inventories, stockpiled as insurance against shortages and ination, to the ght for workers as global rms shift from China into Vietnam. This new kind of globalisation is about security, not efficiency: it prioritises doing business with people you can rely on, in countries your government is friendly with. It could descend into protectionism, big government and worsening ination. Alternatively.

(Adapted from 'The Tricky Restructuring Of Global Supply Chains,' by the Economist, published on June 16, 2022)

Sleepless in Singapore

Expats hoping to leave behind Hong Kong's strict coronavirus pandemic measures, after enduring nearly a year of escalating political turbulence, are looking to Singapore. But they'll have to contend with rising house prices, unprecedented competition for school places and increasingly stringent visa requirements. John, a finance worker based in Hong Kong, is not looking forward to the move. 'We are going from a house with a pool, a tennis court, a garden, five bedrooms, to somewhere where we are looking at an apartment, basically,' he says. Singapore, typically seen as one of the world's most open economies, has long welcomed international corporations. But competition for jobs and the rising cost of living have hardened attitudes against the high-earning migrants.

(Adapted from 'Sleepless In Singapore: The Challenges Facing Hong Kong Expats,' by Oliver Telling, published on June 10, 2022)

A $1bn advertising waste

New research shows that many commercials continue to play on ad-supported streaming services after viewers turn off their televisions, a problem that is causing an estimated waste of more than $1bn a year for brands. The...