Weekly magazine of news and opinion, founded in 1843 and published in London, generally regarded as one of the world's preeminent journals of its kind.
It gives thorough and wide-ranging coverage of general news and particularly of international political developments that bear on the world's economy. In accord with the views promoted by its founders and conveyed by legendary Economist editor Walter Bagehot , the publication maintains the position that free markets typically provide the best method of running economies and governments. North America accounts for about half of its total readership.