Lionel Laurent

What to Expect in 2022 The year will be a money milestone. Jan. 1 marks two decades since the first euro banknotes and coins got into people’s pockets. Even anarchic Bitcoiners should care: The euro was the first new currency of the 21st century (though clearly a product of the 20th). It was…

Amsterdam’s historical significance for global capitalism is hard to overstate. It created the stock market, the tulip bubble and a mega-corporation so big it had its own money, army and colony. Economists later wondered if there was something almost spiritual in the way the Dutch took to money. …

One of cryptocurrency’s spiritual forebears, Timothy C. May, predicted in the 1990s that untraceable digital cash would allow online casinos, bank secrecy and money laundering to flourish. Although laws would be dodged, he said, the individual anonymity and freedom would be worth it — at least,…

As Omicron, the newest variant of Covid-19, made landfall in Europe over the weekend, governments across the continent faced a quandary: How to put their citizens on alert without causing panic? The conundrum was made even more complicated by the fact that nobody — not even the world Health…

One of cryptocurrency’s spiritual forebears, Timothy C. May, predicted in the 1990s that untraceable digital cash would allow online casinos, bank secrecy and money laundering to flourish. Although laws would be dodged, he said, the individual anonymity and freedom would be worth it — at least,…

Valerie Pecresse, the French center-right’s pick to challenge Emmanuel Macron for the presidency next year, describes herself as a mix of Angela Merkel and Margaret Thatcher. This is bold talk for a candidate currently polling at 10%, who looks set to fail even to make the run-off vote. The 54…

Two doses? Three? More? The euphoria that greeted safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines a year ago has turned to confusion and debate in the face of resurgent cases and an ugly new variant. The rich world is doubling down on booster doses, ignoring warnings from the World Health Organization that…

Hinting that you might run for president in France is a lot easier (and more exciting) than joining the race for real. The country is always on the lookout for its next homme providential to rescue it from the jaws of chaos — but it takes luck, skill and money to win as an outsider. Emmanuel Macron…

Before the arrival of safe and effective vaccines, dealing with Covid-19 in Europe was dominated by fear, uncertainty and blunt tools like lockdowns and travel bans to keep hospitals from being overrun. Countries with blanket curbs such as Israel, Austria and Denmark — whose leaders self…

Hype is never far away from cryptocurrencies. Punters taking public transport or navigating social media are bombarded daily with enticing advertising and billboards dangling the next big coin, while self-proclaimed experts and gurus offer hot investing tips before the inevitable tired disclaimer: …