Nice that Bitcoin gets some free advertising.
Bitcoin? No. Blockchain? Yes.
The actual story on Bitcoin in the Economist doesn't hail Bitcoin as a currency, it appreciates the blockchain technology behind it and predicts that banks and other businesses can create their own blockchains for whatever use they see fit.
Yes. The article is mainly about the blockchain technology. It also mentioned Ethereum, which is block chain as well as a platform for many usages.