Global news and current affairs from a European perspective. Best downloaded on Friday mornings (GMT)

Articles in this issue:
Politics this week

Business this week

KAL's cartoon

America's election: Everything to play for

Georgia: Over to you, Bidzina

French reform: Wishful thinking

The world economy: Investors, beware

China’s state capitalism: Not just tilting at windmills

Letters: On the Doha round, Japan and South Korea, American society, Arab politics, the future of cars

Currencies: The weak shall inherit the earth

Business education: No longer the place to be

Our “Which MBA?” rankings: Losing the blues

The Senate: Not so flippable

The first presidential debate: Back in the centre, back in the game

The swing states: North Carolina: New South, blue South?

The Supreme Court: Law’s long arm

Quotes from the campaign: Heard on the trail

The economy: Asking the experts

Lexington: The politics of very big trucks

Canada’s economy: Hey, small spender

Paraguay post-impeachment: A Liberal spring

Spain and the Americas: ¡Ya me voy!

Spain and the Americas: Correction: Banco Rural

Nationalism in Japan: Beware the populists

Malaysian politics: No time like tomorrow

The Maldives: Sunset cruise

New executioners for Sri Lanka: Hanging about

Cleaning up Mumbai and Maharashtra: The degeneration game

Banyan: Now for the soft part

State-owned enterprises: The state advances

Party congress: Happening

Relations with Myanmar: Less thunder out of China

Iran’s nuclear programme: A red line and a reeling rial

Saudi oil: Down (just a bit) with the price

Egypt’s constitution: An endless debate over religion’s role

A Sudanese accord: Better than nothing

Mali’s heritage: Scrolls under threat

Somalia and the Shabab: It’s not over yet

Greek politics: Immigrants as scapegoats

Turkey and Syria: Bad blood bubbles

French politics: A policy “reorientation”

Germany’s parliamentary election: Charging at Merkel

Russian pensions: An unaffordable system

Georgian politics: A stunning victory

Charlemagne: Mysterious Mariano

Investment banking: Too small for their boots

Opting out of the EU: The guns of war

Pensions: Nudge nudge

Labour and the trade unions: O brother, where art thou?

Mobile broadband: Not so fast

Train franchises: Wrong track

Drinking habits: Sobering

Cider’s rise: Truly scrumpy?

Bagehot: One nation under Ed

Internet freedom: Free to choose

Charter cities: Unchartered territory

Law and psychology: A judgment call

Business and America’s fiscal cliff: Give us a brake

Companies and the euro crisis: Iron enters the soul

Carmaking alliances: All for one, and one for all

Business computing: The cloud crowd

American telecoms: Taking MetroPCS

Small companies in poor countries: Looking for a Google

Schumpeter: Call in the B Team

Overview: The choice

Congress: Gridlock central

Taxes, spending and the deficit: Trillion-dollar questions

Regulation, trade and job creation: Defining the state

Health care: Election fever

Education: Class warfare

Immigration: In or out?

Energy and the environment: Boom times, not green

Foreign policy: A world of troubles

Defence: Arms and the men

Criminal justice: Intelligent sentences

Social values: Culture wars, again

Conclusion: Four more weeks

The IMF and the euro crisis: Less cash, more impact

Buttonwood: Voting with the wallet

Japan and the IMF: Poor host

The Liikanen review: Into the ring

JPMorgan Chase v New York: In search of a villain

Index-tracking funds: Index fingered

Inside Germany’s central bank: Europe’s monetary opposition

Free exchange: Tide barriers

The genetics of politics: Body politic

An ancient Martian stream bed: Rocks on Mars

Medical technology: Skin deep

The Great Barrier Reef: Dr De’ath v the killer starfish

The Great Barrier Reef: Correction: BAE Systems

Britain’s first modern philosopher: The significations of his words

Documentary film: “The House I Live In”: World without end

The art of prediction: Looking ahead

David Foster Wallace: Infinite struggle

Making music: Same as it ever was

Eric Hobsbawm

Output, prices and jobs

The Economist poll of forecasters, October averages

Markets

Trade, exchange rates, budget balances and interest rates

The Economist commodity-price index