Business | Bartleby

Straight talking

|4 min read

Editor’s note: Some of our covid-19 coverage is free for readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. For more stories and our pandemic tracker, see our hub

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Straight talking”

Holiday double issue

From the December 19th 2020 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Illustration of a row of buildings that get larger, the last being a skyscraper that has shine lines coming off it

Americans should rekindle their love for big business

New research shows large firms are vital for prosperity

4 min read

A woman looks at her smartphone while walking past a SHEIN sign outside the company's office on July 14, 2026, in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

How Shein came crashing down

The Chinese e-retailer is listing for a quarter of the $100bn at which it was once valued

3 min read

Humanoid robots are seen lined up after performing a dance routine at the World Robot Conference on August 20, 2026 in Beijing, China

China will struggle to make money from humanoid robots

It is ahead of rivals and training up thousands, but profits are a long way off

6 min read