The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Argentinians opt for another populist strong man as economy teeters yet againUnder the surface, Javier Milei, the TV personality who has just been elected president, looks alarmingly similar to the authoritarian Juan Perón
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Starmer’s main obstacle to power is himself and his deeply divided partyHow the Labour leader handles accusations of giving a free pass to the Israelis will be a vital test
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Big Oil fights back against green energy movement Chevron and Exxon’s $120bn megadeals were part of a massive pushback against moves towards clean energy, but only on one side of the Atlantic
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Most ominous axis of anti-Ukraine sentiment is in the US Republican Party Extremist GOP rhetoric poses a bigger threat to western unity on the war than any rumblings in Europe
The Big Picture Putin’s potential deal with Kim bodes ill for Indo-Pacific and beyondBoth leaders are isolated and desperate, but the North Korean dictator has far more to gain
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: German economy will need to harness its heft to achieve takeoffThe heavyweight of Europe, there is no doubt the country has the skills and resources required to do what it takes to become more dynamic and sustainable, but it seems to lack the courage to try
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Despite the gloomy predictions, the world has not collapsed into recession Six months ago we were told that inflation, interest rates, stagnant growth and the war in Ukraine would see economies shrink – but many are showing signs of resilience
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Jack Ma was too big to destroy but small enough to cut down to sizeThe crackdown on China’s tech sector may be over, but the industry is counting the cost as it emerges into a changed corporate and political landscape
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: US regulator’s shot across bows of Amgen/Horizon deal leaves big pharma reeling In an unusual move, the Federal Trade Commission is trying to block the acquisition of Dublin-based Horizon Therapeutics by US multi national Amgen, claiming it would enable the two companies to entrench a monopoly
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Turkey’s elections are Erdogan’s to lose, and he has only himself to blameThe illusion of modernity which Erdogan’s reforms created crumbled on February 6 and contributed to the earthquake’s deadly impact
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Arm’s choice of Wall St over the City triggers transatlantic stock market battle As the UK’s most successful tech group prepares to list in New York, it suggests a shift in investor and corporate approaches to share listings is taking place with London a particular victim of the new trend
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: New cold war could take a pin to burgeoning luxury goods sectorLVMH’s recent listing as the EU’s most valuable company confirms that the French-dominated industry is to Europe what tech is to America – the gift that keeps on giving. But nothing lasts forever
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Who should lose when banks fail?With the next meltdown in the banking sector most likely in the offing, the handling of the last one has left lingering questions about whether, and how far, deposit guarantees should be extended
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Oil-rich Texas blacklists BlackRock as ESG finds itself in the culture warsTexas’s state comptroller has accused the investment fund of boycotting the fossil fuel industry – and has started a trend as other US states move to blacklist investment firms with ESG arms
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: A vibrant civil society is a vital bulwark against the arrogance of powerFrench president Emmanuel Macron’s condescending style of leadership has turned all of France against him, but he’s far from the only leader these days to attempt to remake his country’s body politic in his own image
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: The fact that banks fail is the lesson we never seem to learnIt is clear that, 15 years after the last round of major bank failures, there is no consensus on how to deal with the next failure, especially a very big one
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Demise of Libor is another symptom of Britain’s malaiseThe death of the international financial benchmark in use for 40 years is symbolic of a small, stagnant Britain systematically destroyed by Tory rule
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: City of London up in Arms over SoftBank asset’s Nasdaq move The rebuff is bad news for the British government and exposes the City’s many weaknesses in the post-globalisation era, where financial centres must compete on intrinsic strengths rather than global appeal
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: Can the new Rolls-Royce boss pilot its return to the top flight?There may be turbulence ahead for Tufan Erginbilgic, recently appointed chief executive of the British aircraft engine manufacturer, but there are reasons to be hopeful
The Big Picture Vincent Boland: One year on, Russia shambles into insanity as Ukraine’s tragedy advancesSome brave Russians stand up to Putin’s blatant lies about the war in Ukraine, but it was striking to see so many of the country’s elite cowed and compliant as the Russian leader rambled on with his terrifying vision for the future
