The Economist.
Hello and welcome to The Intelligence from The Economist.
I'm your host, Jason Palmer.
Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.
Think of the last series that you really, really liked.
Couldn't stop binging.
Any chance you'd have watched it if it carried the risk of prison?
or death?
That's the choice that North Koreans make all the time, and they're choosing to be entertained.
And after half a year of tariff tantrums and trade wars in the making,
it's time to assess the ill effects on the American dollar.
And what better way to do that than with our world-famous Big Mac index, fresh off the griddle?
First up, though.
Louis Vuitton recently opened a huge property in Shanghai.
You call it the flagship, I suppose.
It's a store, it's a restaurant, it seems to be some sort of museum as well,
and it is the shape of a massive silver ship.
It's covered in Louis Vuitton's trademark print and is called the Louis.
And so it's basically just a giant billboard for the brand.
Some analysts I speak to are also viewing it as something of a metaphor.