At a dinner recently we were discussing the housing crisis, which everyone agreed was terrible. We all knew the figures – 100,000 on housing lists; 10,000 homeless – a shocking third of them children. We agreed the Government wasn’t doing enough. Someone asked, not unreasonably, since there was clearly money (tax receipts are the highest […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The number of companies seeking to go public in mainland China has jumped to about 580, a three-year high, encouraged by a slew of market reforms and a bumper year for equity financing in 2019. It includes 420 Chinese firms waiting approval to list in Shanghai or Shenzhen, official data shows, while […]

At a dinner recently we were discussing the housing crisis, which everyone agreed was terrible. We all knew the figures – 100,000 on housing lists; 10,000 homeless – a shocking third of them children. We agreed the Government wasn’t doing enough. Someone asked, not unreasonably, since there was clearly money (tax receipts are the highest […]

The pesticide known as chlorpyrifos is both clearly dangerous and in very wide use. It is known to pass easily from mother to fetus and has been linked to a wide range of serious medical problems, including impaired development, Parkinson’s disease and some forms of cancer. That’s not entirely surprising. The chemical was originally developed […]

More from our inbox: To the Editor: Re “Migrant Children Pay Price as Trump Seeks to Extend Detention” (news article, Dec. 9): The evidence is clear: Family detention is a harmful and costly mechanism to punish women and children whose only “crime” is fleeing persecution. That’s why, as an American, I was distraught to see […]

This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday. First, a quick note about impeachment: More than 600 protests will be taking place around the country this evening. The goal is to voice outrage at President Trump’s behavior and show support for impeaching him. My colleague […]

(Reuters) – Tallgrass Energy (TGE.N) said on Tuesday it accepted an offer from Blackstone Infrastructure Partners and its affiliates to acquire shares in the U.S. midstream energy company that they do not already own. Blackstone Infrastructure’s latest offer of $22.45 per Class A share represented a premium of 22.7% to the company’s last close on […]

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.) Good morning. We’re covering the first moves of Britain’s new Parliament, escalating protests over India’s citizenship law and a telescope that’s hunting for “exoplanets.” Brexit tops new Parliament’s agenda Britain’s Parliament convenes today for the first time since the Conservative Party’s landslide victory in the […]

‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Toys in every store. But the purdyest sight to see, Is the holly that will be on your own front door.” The singsong background music, the image of the wreath-bedecked front door opening to welcoming hugs and warmth is the dream Christmas that everyone wants. We see […]

Trade wars rarely have victors. They do, however, sometimes have losers. And Donald Trump has definitely turned out to be a loser. Of course, that’s not the way he and his team are portraying the tentative deal they’ve struck with China, which they’re claiming as a triumph. The reality is that the Trump administration achieved […]