And they’re off. What could upend America’s election?

The world this week

Politics
Business
KAL’s cartoon
This week’s cover
Leaders


And they’re off
Three big risks that might tip America’s presidential election
Third parties, the Trump trials and the candidates’ age introduce a high degree of uncertainty

China’s National People’s Congress
Xi Jinping’s hunger for power is hurting China’s economy
A new economic plan won’t end deflation, even as he sidelines his prime minister

Jam today, ingredients tomorrow
Britain’s budget cuts taxes on the promise of productivity gains
Jeremy Hunt has got it the wrong way round

Course correction
How to fix the Ivy League
Its supremacy is being undermined by bad leadership

The real skinny
A frenzy of innovation in obesity drugs is under way
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are printing money now. But they will not be a stagnant duopoly

Letters

On artificial intelligence, the Holocaust, national conservatives, Ukraine, history, investment advice
Letters to the editor
By Invitation


Finance and development
Three presidents on how to make global finance work better for Africa
Britain’s fiscal fiction
A former adviser on the 250 words Jeremy Hunt should read out at the budget
Briefing


Spoilers
Third-party candidates could tip America’s presidential election
But they have to get on the ballot first
Asia


Armed and autocratic
North Korea is arming Russia and threatening war with South Korea
Stock and awe
Why are so many Indians piling into stocks?
Banyan
What the war in Ukraine means for Asia
Too much butter, not enough chicken
Indian food is great. Perhaps too great
China


Xi’s show
China’s parliament is being used to highlight Xi Jinping’s power
Eyes in the sky
China’s satellites are improving rapidly. The PLA will benefit
Chaguan
Why China’s confidence crisis goes unfixed
United States


Brand Old Party
Super Trump and his mighty MAGA machine
Sleepy Tuesday
Donald Trump wasn’t MAGA’s only winner on Super Tuesday
Executive inaction
Can Joe Biden bring order to the southern border without Congress?
Words of warning
Is New York rethinking its sanctuary-city status?
Celestial bodies
A private company will send your ashes to the moon
The WPATH files
Leaked discussions reveal uncertainty about transgender care
Lexington
Has Ron DeSantis gone too far in Florida?