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What this article is about

This summary covers The Economist’s March 28th, 2026 Finance & economics article listed in the contents as War and inflation and headlined on the page as Here we go again.

The core idea is simple: the war with Iran has pushed energy prices sharply higher, and that means the cost of living could start rising again just when many rich countries thought the inflation problem was mostly behind them.

The simple version

Energy is one of those prices that spreads everywhere.

If oil and gas get more expensive:

• driving costs more
• shipping costs more
• factories and farms pay more to operate
• electricity and heating become pricier
• businesses start passing those costs on

So even if the economy does not fall into a full recession, ordinary life can still feel worse very quickly.

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What this article is about

This summary covers The Economist’s March 28th, 2026 Science & technology article on page 76, headlined Picking their brains.

The core idea is that the AI race is not just about chips, money or the best model release. It is also about who has the deepest pool of talented researchers, and the article argues that China is now pulling ahead on that front.

The simple version

America still has elite AI labs and major advantages. But the article says China is building the stronger talent pipeline.

Its argument is straightforward: