A Wall Street state of mind has captured America
Downtown New York is quieter than ever. Finance has never been louder
At what time and place should you meet a stranger in New York if you cannot communicate with them beforehand? This hypothetical puzzle was first posed by Thomas Schelling, a game theorist, in 1960, as a method of explaining “focal points”—the solution people default to when co-ordinating if they are unable to converse. The most common answer, according to students he quizzed, was noon at “the information booth in Grand Central Station”.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Forget about the tree”
Finance & economics September 28th 2024
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From the September 28th 2024 edition
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Germany’s economy goes from bad to worse
Things may look brighter next year, but the relief will be short-lived
An economics Nobel for work on why nations succeed and fail
Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson tackled the most important question of all
Why investors should still avoid Chinese stocks
The debate about “uninvestibility” obscures something important
China’s property crisis claims more victims: companies
Unsold homes are contributing to a balance-sheet recession
Europe’s green trade restrictions are infuriating poor countries
Only the poorest can expect help to cushion the blow
How America learned to love tariffs
Protectionism hasn’t been this respectable for decades