The Economist Continental Europe Edition February 8, 2020

Politics The American Senate acquitted Donald Trump of the impeachment charges laid against him, bringing a swift end to the trial of the president after the Republican leadership decided that no witnesses should be called. Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction, denouncing Mr Trump for “an appalling abuse of public trust”. The day before the verdict Mr Trump used his state-of-the-union speech to laud a “great American comeback” under his administration. Congress was in a poisonous mood. Mr Trump refused to shake the hand of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker. She ripped up a copy of his speech after he finished speaking. The Iowa caucuses, the first stage in the race to nominate presidential candidates, were a mess. The state’s Democrats cast their votes for a champion to take…

ON PAPER THIS is a golden age for bosses. Chief executives have vast power. The 500 people who run America’s largest listed firms hold sway over 26m staff. Profits are high and the economy is purring. The pay is fantastic: the median of those CEOs pockets $13m a year. Sundar Pichai at Alphabet has just got a deal worth up to $246m by 2023. The risks are tolerable: your chances of being fired or retiring in any year are about 10%. CEOs often get away with a dreadful performance. In April Ginni Rometty will stand down from IBM after eight years in which Big Blue’s shares have trailed the stockmarket by 202%. Adam Neumann got high in private jets and lost $4bn before being ousted from WeWork last year. The…

Politics The American Senate acquitted Donald Trump of the impeachment charges laid against him, bringing a swift end to the trial of the president after the Republican leadership decided that no witnesses should be called. Mitt Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction, denouncing Mr Trump for “an appalling abuse of public trust”. The day before the verdict Mr Trump used his state-of-the-union speech to laud a “great American comeback” under his administration. Congress was in a poisonous mood. Mr Trump refused to shake the hand of Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker. She ripped up a copy of his speech after he finished speaking. The Iowa caucuses, the first stage in the race to nominate presidential candidates, were a mess. The state’s Democrats cast their votes for a…

ON PAPER THIS is a golden age for bosses. Chief executives have vast power. The 500 people who run America’s largest listed firms hold sway over 26m staff. Profits are high and the economy is purring. The pay is fantastic: the median of those CEOs pockets $13m a year. Sundar Pichai at Alphabet has just got a deal worth up to $246m by 2023. The risks are tolerable: your chances of being fired or retiring in any year are about 10%. CEOs often get away with a dreadful performance. In April Ginni Rometty will stand down from IBM after eight years in which Big Blue’s shares have trailed the stockmarket by 202%. Adam Neumann got high in private jets and lost $4bn before being ousted from WeWork last year. The…

IT WAS A devastating contrast. As the Iowa caucus turned into a fiasco (Democrats blamed the software), President Donald Trump hailed an “American comeback” in the state-of-the-union message and basked in his acquittal by the Senate over impeachment. With the economy roaring and his approval ratings ticking up, Mr Trump looks likelier than ever to triumph in November. Compare that with the Democrats after Iowa, in which no candidate won the backing of much more than a quarter of caucusers. Democrats agree that ending Mr Trump’s bombastic tenure is their priority. But their champions, now trudging round New Hampshire eking out votes before next week’s primary (see United States section), are starkly divided over what to offer Americans in his place. The left argues that America has stopped working for most…

IT WAS A devastating contrast. As the Iowa caucus turned into a fiasco (Democrats blamed the software), President Donald Trump hailed an “American comeback” in the state-of-the-union message and basked in his acquittal by the Senate over impeachment. With the economy roaring and his approval ratings ticking up, Mr Trump looks likelier than ever to triumph in November. Compare that with the Democrats after Iowa, in which no candidate won the backing of much more than a quarter of caucusers. Democrats agree that ending Mr Trump’s bombastic tenure is their priority. But their champions, now trudging round New Hampshire eking out votes before next week’s primary (see United States section), are starkly divided over what to offer Americans in his place. The left argues that America has stopped working for…