Efforts to get the Senate to vote on a bill to expand Social Security benefits are intensifying, as the House-passed Social Security Fairness Act enjoys rare bipartisan support but has only a short window of time — six weeks — to be passed. “We’re guardedly optimistic,” Shannon Benton executive director…

Jake Paul, a former child star and social media influencer who started boxing professionally in 2020, slugged it out with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Friday in a matchup that was livestreamed worldwide on Netflix. Paul won the fight by unanimous decision.  Here’s what we know about how much…

With President-elect Donald Trump vowing to pull the plug on the $7,500 tax credit for buyers of electric vehicles, one EV maker and its billionaire owner are fully behind the idea and even stand to profit from it. “Take away the subsidies, it will only help Tesla,” Tesla owner Elon…

Satirical publication The Onion said it has bought Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction for an undisclosed price, with the backing of the Connecticut families of eight victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and one first responder. Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments to…

Donald Trump is vowing to reduce wasteful federal spending by tapping two billionaires — Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — to spearhead the initiative, which the president-elect is calling the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The appointments, announced by Trump on Tuesday, raise a host of…

Donald Trump, who recently described “tariff” as “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” has proposed a range of taxes on imports from other countries. The president-elect’s stated aim: to reduce American companies’ use of foreign goods and parts by raising their cost, a policy he contends would strengthen the U.S.’…

Family of man who died from McDonald’s E.coli outbreak speaks out Family of man who died from McDonald’s E.coli outbreak speaks out 03:06 A deadly E. coli outbreak linked to slivered onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers has sickened 104 people in 14 states, federal health officials said in an…

President Joe Biden made student loan forgiveness a central issue to his administration, rolling out efforts to forgive debt as well as to lower repayments for millions of borrowers. But with President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, the future of those efforts is now in question. …

New report raises health concerns about Lunchables New report raises health concerns about Lunchables 01:35 Kraft Heinz is pulling Lunchables — prepackaged boxes of deli meat, cheese and crackers — from the program that provides free and discounted meals to about 30 million low-income school children, the food conglomerate said…

With Republicans edging closer to gaining control of Congress, millions of Americans may be at risk of losing enhanced subsidies that currently underwrite the cost of health insurance bought through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, according to industry experts and the Congressional Budget Office.  The November 5 election gave control…

Social Security sets its 2025 cost-of-living increase at 2.5% Social Security sets its 2025 cost-of-living increase at 2.5% 03:18 The House is expected to try to pass a Social Security-related bill this week to ensure benefits for workers who are also eligible for other pensions, despite a surprise move by…

The Baltimore City Veterans Day Parade kicks off at Washington Monument Saturday The Baltimore City Veterans Day Parade kicks off at Washington Monument Saturday 03:25 Veterans Day, which commemorates Americans who have served in the military, is observed annually on November 11, with the holiday this year falling on a…

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says he won’t resign if Trump tries to remove him – CBS News Watch CBS News Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he would not step down if pressured by President-elect Trump. The Fed also cut interest rates by one quarter of a percentage point. MoneyWatch…

11/7: CBS Morning News 20:45 “The Handmaid’s Tale” is selling again. Since President-elect Donald Trump clinched his return to the White House, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic about a country in which women are brutally repressed has been high on the Amazon.com best seller list. “The Handmaid’s Tale” was popular throughout…

Soft ripened cheeses sold by retailers including Aldi and Market Basket and are being recalled because they may be tainted with listeria, a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, according to a notice posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  A separate but related recall, which involved…

Trump promises tariffs for economic plan Trump promises tariffs to help pay for economic plans 08:18 One company is already responding to President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs, which could result in higher prices for American consumers if retailers pass along added costs to shoppers.  Shoemaker Steve Madden says it plans to import fewer…

President-elect Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Friday to reiterate that he doesn’t plan to sell shares of Trump Media & Technology Group. He also called for an investigation from “the appropriate authorities” into “market manipulators or short sellers,” whom executives at the company and shareholders have previously blamed…

Canada announced Wednesday it won’t block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of…

Federal Reserve cuts interest rate Federal Reserve cuts interest rate for second time in 2024 05:31 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he won’t step down if President-elect Donald Trump, who has previously criticized Powell’s performance, asks him to resign.  Speaking at a press conference Thursday to discuss the Fed’s…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals cannot be charged processing fees, also known as junk fees, beginning in 2027. School districts currently work with processing companies to offer cashless payment systems for families. But the companies can charge “processing fees” for…

Former President Donald Trump, now reelected to a second term, has vowed to enact business-friendly policies, including sharp corporate tax cuts, higher tariffs and swift deregulation. He says he’ll cut the corporate tax rate by 6%, from its current 21%, to 15%, leading to greater profitability for companies. Such a…

Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group had an eventful Election Day 2024, with its DJT stock halted three times after the shares suddenly plunged. At the end of the trading day, the Truth Social owner released its third-quarter earnings, showing a continued decline in revenue.  The company’s third-quarter results,…

Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Bernard “Bernie” Marcus has died at 95, the home improvement chain announced Tuesday. “The entire Home Depot family is deeply saddened by the death of our co-founder Bernie Marcus. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Bernie. He was a master merchant and a…

Boeing’s 33,000 unionized machinists on Wednesday voted to approve the plane manufacturer’s latest contract offer, ending a seven-week strike that had halted production of most of the company’s passenger planes. The union said 59% voted to accept the contract. Members have the option of returning to work as soon as…

Because Election Day isn’t a U.S. holiday, many American adults are at work on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November, the day designated for federal, state and local general elections. But 28 states and several thousand companies guarantee workers time off to vote. Without a federal law guaranteeing…

 Warren Buffett is now sitting on more than $325 billion cash after continuing to unload billions of dollars worth of Apple and Bank of America shares this year and continuing to collect a steady stream of profits from all of Berkshire Hathaway’s assorted businesses without finding any major acquisitions. Berkshire…

NYC Marathon runner competing with a purpose NYC Marathon runner competing with a purpose 04:51 New York City marathon winners in the men’s and women’s divisions will each earn six figures for outpacing their competitors in the 26.2-mile race on Sunday.  First-place male and female runners in the “Open Division,”…

When Jasmine Adeoye, an account manager based in Austin, Texas, decided to stop drinking in June 2022, she turned to a kratom beverage advertised as an alcohol alternative. Within a year and a half, Adeoye said she was addicted to the drink, “Feel Free Classic,” lured by what she calls…

TGI Fridays closing 36 “underperforming” restaurants across U.S. TGI Fridays closing 36 “underperforming” restaurants across U.S. 00:24 Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection Saturday, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches this year.…

MrBeast has fired as many as 10 employees after a third-party probe into the online content providers’s workplace culture found some instances of harassment and misconduct, the company said Friday.  A company spokesman declined to specify how many people MrBeast had fired. But the development comes as Jimmy Donaldson, 26,…

Wendy’s plans to close 140 U.S. restaurants before the end of this year on top of the 100 it said it would close in May. But in a conference call with investors Thursday, the company said those closures will be offset by new restaurant openings. Wendy’s said it plans to…

Boeing machinists union leadership has endorsed the latest contract proposal and is calling for a vote early next week, possibly bringing an end to a weekslong strike. “It is time for our Members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory,” The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers…

About 60,000 tumblers sold at Wawa stores in eight states and the District of Columbia are being recalled after its manufacturer received four reports of laceration injuries, according to a notice published Thursday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The tumblers’ metal straws pose a risk of cutting consumers’…

While it’s no easy feat to pick up and move to a part of the country with a superior job market, knowing where to look can help narrow a search.  The best U.S. states for job seekers feature rich career opportunities, low unemployment, and strong job and overall economic growth,…

Stellantis is recalling 33,777 Ram 1500 pickup trucks to replace a damaged front wheel bearing hub encoder ring, an essential component in the vehicle’s steering system. The damaged part is the result of poor handling prior to assembly of the vehicle, and not a pre-existing defect, according to a notice posted…

Exactech, a Florida device manufacturer that faces more than 2,000 state and federal lawsuits from patients who allege the company sold defective hip and knee implants, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday. The Gainesville-based company said in a statement it was restructuring and would be sold to an investor group of…

Donald Trump’s media company is enjoying a stock market resurgence, with shares of Trump Media & Technology Group soaring on Tuesday as betting markets now wager the former president is favored to win in the November 5 election. The focus on Trump Media — which trades under the ticker DJT,…

Butterball unveils ‘cook from frozen’ turkey Butterball unveils ‘cook from frozen’ turkey 00:45 Target is lowering the price of a Thanksgiving meal, saying shoppers can feed four for $20, or five bucks less than last year, the discount retailer said Monday. Minneapolis-based Target said its holiday offerings include frozen turkey,…

As a mist of rain sprinkled the fields around him in Homestead, Florida, Ford bemoaned how expensive it had been running a fossil fuel-powered irrigation system on his five-acre farm — and how bad it was for the planet. Earlier this month, Ford installed an automated underground system that uses a…

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, addressed a crowded town hall Saturday in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he downplayed the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot and suggested mail ballots were a “recipe for fraud.” In response to a man who asked Musk what his message was to young voters who…

The Washington Post’s publisher, William Lewis, on Friday said the newspaper would not endorse a presidential candidate in this year’s election or in future elections, a stance that sparked outrage from and some of its current and former employees, as well as subscribers.   “The Washington Post will not be making…

Costco is recalling packages of salmon over concerns they could be contaminated with listeria.  Acme Smoked Fish Corp, the shopping club’s salmon provider, sent a notice to Costco shoppers this week informing them of the recall of Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon, due to potential contamination with listeria monocytogenes bacteria.  The notice…

AI is helping a philanthropic organization give $1,000 cash payments to Hurricanes Helene and Milton victims in North Carolina and Florida who need it most. About 1,000 households in areas hit hardest by the hurricanes will start receiving emergency payments from nonprofit GiveDirectly this week. Unlike other forms of assistance,…

Federal Health officials on Friday said at least 75 people across 13 states have been sickened by the recent and deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed one fatality linked to the outbreak, as had been previously reported. At…

The rise of plant-based “milk” The rise of plant-based “milk” 08:49 American Airlines will add oat milk creamer to its in-flight menu after animal welfare advocates successfully petitioned the carrier to introduce a vegan creamer option.  The airline will introduce the new alternative to its menus beginning in November, People…

Amid a deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders, Burger King and Yum Brands are pulling fresh onions from some of their own locations. Yum is yanking the topping from some KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell locations “out of an abundance of caution,” Yum said Thursday in…

Medicare Advantage plans reaped $4.2 billion in extra payments last year by making home visits to senior citizens who may not have received treatment for serious health issues, a new government report has found. The report, issued by the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human…

McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers have been linked to an outbreak of E. coli, a bacteria that can make people sick. The outbreak has killed one person in Colorado, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has also affected nearly 50 other people in 10 states. The illnesses…

The IRS on Tuesday announced its new inflation-adjusted tax brackets for 2025, with the annual income thresholds rising by about 2.8% from 2024 — the smallest jump in several years.  The IRS each fall announces inflation-adjusted changes to the tax brackets and dozens of other provisions for the following tax…

McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers are being linked to an outbreak of E. coli that has sickened nearly 50 people in 10 states, killing one person, federal health officials said Tuesday.  Most sick people reported eating Quarter Pounders from McDonald’s, and investigators are working to confirm which food ingredient is contaminated,…

Sotheby’s later this month hopes to make the auction house’s first ever sale of an artwork made by a humanoid robot.  Ai-Da, a humanoid robot artist, is contributing “AI God,” a portrait of Alain Turing, the mathematician and computer scientist considered to be the progenitor of modern computing, to what…

Billionaire and “X” owner Elon Musk has said his social media platform must remain “politically neutral” in how it treats both the left and the right. But as a private citizen, Musk has his own views, and he’s sharing them widely. Musk is now using his X posts, influence and…

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX who’s gone all-in on Republican Donald Trump’s candidacy for the White House, is pledging to give away $1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee’s petition backing the Constitution. The offer is sparking questions among election experts…

With less than three weeks until the U.S. presidential election, millions of Americans say the economy is a top issue as they decide how to cast their vote — an understandable focus after the rollercoaster of the past four years, which included everything from a bear market to the hottest…

Mail carriers seek pay increases, better safety measures in new contract Mail carriers seek pay increases, better safety measures in new contract 02:24 Some 200,000 mail carriers have reached a tentative contract deal with the U.S. Postal Service that includes backdated pay raises and a promise to provide workers with air-conditioned…

Boeing workers reach deal that could end strike Boeing, machinists’ union reach tentative deal that could end strike 01:04 Boeing and the union representing striking machinists have negotiated a new contract proposal that would provide bigger pay raises and bonuses in a bid to end a costly walkout that has…

CVS Health said Friday CEO Karen Lynch has stepped down after the pharmacy chain once again warned its earnings will fall short of Wall Street’s forecasts. Lynch will be replaced by CVS Caremark president David Joyner, who will attempt to steer the health care giant through a worsening environment of…

Brand Description Retail UPC Lot code Best By Date ALWAYS SAVE Always Save 9.9oz Homestyle Waffles 070038608752 2C201154 1/14/2025 ALWAYS SAVE Always Save 9.9oz Homestyle Waffles 070038608752 2C207184 7/18/2025 ALWAYS SAVE Always Save 9.9oz Homestyle Waffles 070038608752 2C210163 10/15/2024 BEST CHOICE Best Choice 12.3oz Chocolate Chip Waffles 070038596790 2C202034 2/2/2025…

10/17: CBS Evening News 19:48 One of Japan’s top luxury hotel firms will open an “onsen” hot spring resort in upstate New York that it says will be the first Japanese-run venture of its kind in the United States. Japanese onsens — bath houses where patrons relax naked together in…

Aldi is unveiling its lowest-priced Thanksgiving spread in five years, with the discount grocery chain possibly taking a page from the recent playbook of fast-food chains offering $5 value meals to entice price-sensitive Americans. Aldi on Wednesday announced its “inflation-busting holiday meal” for 10 at a cost of $47.00, or…

Patient and consumer advocates are looking to Kamala Harris to accelerate federal efforts to help people struggling with medical debt if she prevails in next month’s presidential election. And they see the vice president and Democratic nominee as the best hope for preserving Americans’ access to health insurance. Comprehensive coverage…

Americans continue to face higher prices after inflation shot up during the pandemic, in particular for essentials like food. But there’s another, less noticeable, trend that’s just as painful to your pocketbook even when a product’s cost looks stable: shrinkflation.  About one-third of roughly 100 common consumer products tracked by…

Economic Club of Chicago hosts former President Trump Economic Club of Chicago hosts former President Trump 03:04 Trump Media & Technology Group, whose stock trades under the ticker DJT — the same as former President Donald Trump’s initials — was briefly halted on Wall Street Tuesday after the stock suddenly…

Major drugstores testing smaller locations Major drugstores testing out smaller locations with full-size pharmacies 03:55 Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday said it plans to close 1,200 stores during the next three years as the embattled pharmacy chain attempts a turnaround in the face of low drug reimbursement rates and slower…

Lilly Ledbetter, a champion of women getting paid the same as men for doing the same work, died Saturday night, her family said in a statement. She was 86. AL.com was first to report that she had died. According to that outlet, the statement said she died “peacefully” and “surrounded…

Across the U.S., family members caring for loved ones provide an estimated $600 billion in unpaid services each year, sacrificing time, money and often their well-being to care for aging loved ones, according to an AARP survey. As Congress considers a bill that would provide family caregivers a tax credit,…

DOJ requests Tesla autopilot system documents DOJ requests Tesla autopilot system documents 00:27 Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, though fans of the electric vehicle maker will have to wait until at least 2026 before it’s available. CEO Elon Musk pulled up to a stage…

7-Eleven clerk who was attacked by mob of robbers is back to work the day after 7-Eleven clerk who was attacked by mob of robbers is back to work the day after 02:46 7-Eleven, the iconic convenience-store brand, plans to close more than 400 “underperforming” locations across North America, its…

What’s that safest way for babies to sleep? | The Answer What’s that safest way for babies to sleep? | The Answer 01:22 Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2 million Snuga Swings sold nationwide after the suffocation deaths of five infants, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced…

33,000 Boeing workers striking for higher wages 33,000 Boeing workers striking for higher wages 02:08 Boeing on Friday said it’s cutting 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 employees. In a memo on Friday, CEO Kelly Ortberg announced the layoffs, writing that the aerospace giant must make “tough decisions” to stay competitive.…

Florida drivers waited in long lines and in some cases came up empty trying to refuel their vehicles evacuating during Hurricane Milton.  As of Friday morning, almost 29% of Florida’s gas stations were sold out, according to GasBuddy gas analyst Patrick De Haan. That means roughly 2,320 of the state’s…

Tips on keeping safe amid listeria outbreak Tips on keeping safe amid listeria outbreak 04:44 A company is recalling nearly 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products made at an Oklahoma plant because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria, which can cause illness and death. BrucePac of Woodburn,…

WHEN AID donors helped fund the Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique, the goal was to help that southern African country build up its economy after a civil war. In a country with income per head of just over $600, the Mozal smelter is the largest industrial employer. Yet now the…

THE FORECLOSURE and court auction of 87 flats in the southern city of Changsha last month underlines many of the problems with China’s property sector. The homes were owned by one woman, flouting the controls that Changsha and other cities have on the number of housing units urban dwellers can…

Prices could once again spike this winter

Downtown New York is quieter than ever. Finance has never been louder

A single dissent on the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate committee garnered plenty of attention last week. Understandably so. It marked the first time since 2005 that a Fed governor had opposed a rate decision. Michelle Bowman’s disagreement highlighted concerns that a half-percentage-point cut might be excessive for an economy yet to…

TWO GUT instincts have distinguished the macroeconomic policies of Xi Jinping, China’s ruler since 2012. He has disdained consumer handouts, which he thinks breed laziness. And he has refrained from bold economic stimulus, the kind of fiscal and monetary “bazooka” that China’s previous leaders fired in November 2008 during the…

Missiles are flying over a region that supplies a third of the world’s crude

The economies of Canada and America are joined at the hip. Some $2bn of trade and 400,000 people cross their 9,000km of shared border every day. Canadians on the west coast do more day trips to nearby Seattle than to distant Toronto. No wonder the two economies have largely moved…

After THE financial crisis of 2007-09, global house prices fell by 6% in real terms. But, before long, they picked up again, and sailed past their pre-crisis peak. When covid-19 struck, economists reckoned a property crash was on the way. In fact there was a boom, with mask-wearing house-hunters fighting…

When Michel Barnier, France’s new prime minister, submits his budget to parliament on October 10th he will be doing so against a painful market backdrop. A fortnight ago the yield on French ten-year government debt surpassed that of Spain, suggesting that investors see the euro zone’s second-largest economy as riskier…

If Chinese retail investors had their way they would forgo the seven-day National Day holiday that ends on October 7th. An aggressive stimulus package, announced in Beijing on September 24th, has unleashed the biggest weekly stockmarket rally the country has witnessed in more than 15 years. Major indices have soared…

How much money has Senegal borrowed? More than previously thought, according to Ousmane Sonko, who became its prime minister in April. At a press conference on September 26th he said the previous government had “lied to the people” by hiding loans worth 10% of GDP, enough to push the country’s…

There is no such thing as a strategic commodity

The career of Andrea Orcel vividly encapsulates the recent history of European banking. At Merrill Lynch, now part of Bank of America, Mr Orcel advised on deals that formed part of the wave of mergers that crested in 2007, when a pan-European troika bought ABN AMRO, a Dutch lender. After…

The Jingxi Hotel in Beijing is known for its home-made yogurt—and for hosting some of the most important meetings in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. They include the “third plenum” of 1978, which confirmed Deng Xiaoping’s rise to power and the opening of the Chinese economy. The country’s…

In markets it is known as the “Trump trade”, a bet that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would herald more inflation and higher interest rates. Many of Mr Trump’s core policies push in this direction: tariffs would add to import costs, deportations of immigrants could push up wages…

In the early 20th century, for brief periods, the most frenetic American trading pits were not the raucous markets in which stocks were traded, nor the venues where bonds were exchanged. The real action was in the market for betting on the next president. “Crowds formed in the financial district…and…

“We cannot carry on trade without war, nor war without trade,” wrote Jan Pieterszoon Coen, a brutal governor-general of the Dutch East India Company, to shareholders in 1614. Four centuries later, things sound a bit different. “Let’s make no mistake: assertiveness is a prerequisite for keeping our markets open,” says…

Rachel Reeves, Britain’s new chancellor, says that she has inherited the worst fiscal circumstances since the second world war. An exaggeration, perhaps, but only a small one. To address the squeeze, Ms Reeves will seek the help of Britain’s retirement savings. On July 8th she said that she wants the…

China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping, contains multitudes. His economic philosophy touts both self-reliance and openness. His vision of policymaking embraces top-down design, but also bottom-up experimentation. During the covid-19 pandemic, he urged local officials to eliminate infections (which often required lockdowns) and promote growth (which required mobility). His recent call…

In May 27 members of the Community Empowerment Resource Network (CERNET), a Philippine charity, were charged with bankrolling communist rebels. Straight away the case looked strange. A social-media post by police claimed they had jailed Estrella Flores-Catarata, one of CERNET’s associates, who received an award from the UN for her…

The earliest depiction of the ouroboros—a serpent coiled in a circle, eating its own tail—was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, a pharaoh who ruled Egypt around 1320BC. It was used in his funerary texts to depict the infinite nature of time, and later cropped up all over the place.…

The world is still, in a sense, swimming in cash. Or at least the electronic equivalent: central-bank reserves. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a club of central banks, estimates that the balance-sheets of rich-country central banks amount to roughly 50% of collective GDP. That is down from 70% in…

Starbucks offers endless opportunities for innovation. Parts of social media delight in hacking the chain’s menu to create highly instagrammable drinks. Fancy a “cake batter Frappuccino”? Simply order a “vanilla bean crème Frappuccino”, add a pump of hazelnut syrup and ask the barista to put a cake pop in the…

The savings and loan (S&L) crisis terrorised America’s banks for years. Starting in the mid-1980s, a mix of aggressive lending growth, poor risk controls and a property downturn contributed to the collapse or consolidation of over 1,000 small lending institutions. China’s smallest banks are now suffering from many of the…

Move to San Francisco and it is hard not to be swept up by mania over artificial intelligence (AI). Advertisements tell you about how the tech will revolutionise your workplace. In bars people speculate about when the world will “get AGI”, or when machines will become more advanced than humans.…

War is still exacting a heavy toll on Ukraine’s economy. The country’s GDP is a quarter smaller than on the eve of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, the central bank is tearing through foreign reserves and Russia’s recent attacks on critical infrastructure have depressed growth forecasts. “Strong armies,” warned Sergii Marchenko, Ukraine’s…

Sixteen years ago American stockmarkets reached their modern nadir. During the early 2000s European and emerging-market equities went on a bull run. By March 2008 America had entered recession and its financial crisis was under way. The country’s stocks accounted for less than 40% of the world’s total stockmarket capitalisation.…

Queues of idle trucks trying to enter America are standard fare at Mexico’s border. Recently, however, vehicles at the Otay Mesa crossing, which separates California and the city of Tijuana, have been lining up to get into Mexico. The trucks do not travel far—they offload their shipping containers in newly…

From some angles it seems as if thermal coal, the world’s dirtiest fuel, is having a tough year. Prices are down a bit. China, which gobbles up over half the world’s supply, is in economic trouble; a surge in hydropower generation there is squeezing out the fuel. In May G7…

Which is the greatest rivalry in tennis? Older players might reminisce about the “fire and ice” contests between the cool-headed Bjorn Borg and the tempestuous John McEnroe; those a generation younger might rave about the all-American duels between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. After a two-decade-long era dominated by rivalries…

In the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants”, Mr Krabs, purveyor of krabby patty hamburgers, is a frequent and ruthless price-gouger. He can get away with it since he has no competition, save for the unappetising Chum Bucket. McDonald’s, a fast-food chain that flips real-world hamburgers, can only dream of Mr Krabs’s pricing…

In April a New York fried-chicken shop went viral. It was not the food at Sansan Chicken East Village that captured the world’s imagination, but the service. Diners found an assistant from the Philippines running the till via video link. The service is provided by Happy Cashier, which connects American…

It was a French politician, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who coined the term “exorbitant privilege” in the 1960s. He was referring to benefits received by America as issuer of the world’s reserve currency—namely, the ability to run high deficits comfortably. These days France is reminded it has no such privilege. Ahead…

Owing to the rapid spread of solar power, Spanish energy is increasingly cheap. Between 11am and 7pm, the sunniest hours in a sunny country, prices often loiter near zero on wholesale markets (see chart). Even in Germany, which by no reasonable definition is a sunny country, but which has plenty…

India’s stockmarket swooned upon the news that Narendra Modi, the country’s business-friendly prime minister, would return to power diminished and in a coalition after a recent general election. One benchmark, though, fell especially sharply and has yet to recover: the Bombay Stock Exchange’s index for Public Sector Undertakings (BSE PSU).…

Editor’s note (June 20th 2024): The Supreme Court has ruled in Moore v United States, upholding the tax at issue (the “mandatory repatriation tax”). The court declined to weigh in on the constitutionality of a tax on unrealised gains. What is income, really? Ask an economist and they might describe…

Things are big in America. That is true of houses, cars and food portions. Perhaps most shocking of all is the size of tips. In much of the rest of the world, gratuities are a small gesture for good service. In American restaurants they are de rigueur. And they are…

How can you tell it’s time to get out of the market? In 1929 Joseph Kennedy, an American businessman and politician, supposedly realised the party was over upon hearing a shoe-shine boy dispensing stock tips. In 2000 the exit doors beckoned after 17 “dotcom” firms paid millions of dollars each…

It was a French politician, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, who coined the term “exorbitant privilege” in the 1960s. He was referring to the benefits received by America as issuer of the world’s reserve currency—namely, the ability to run high deficits comfortably. These days France is reminded that it has no such…

Is a fresh housing boom under way? In April a house-price index for the world, excluding China, rose by more than 3% year on year (see chart 1). American house prices are 6.5% higher than a year ago, Australian ones are up by 5% and Portuguese ones are soaring. In…

The HISTORY of leveraged finance—the business of lending to risky, indebted companies—is best told in three acts. High-yield (or “junk”) bonds were the subject of the first. That ended in 1990 when Michael Milken, the godfather of this sort of debt, was sent to prison for fraud. In the second…

Returning from his paternity leave last week, your columnist was keen to get writing. After all, numerous studies say parents’ careers can suffer after they have children. Best to immediately dispel any notion that his might do so. But then he remembered that he is a man, and went to…

In some parts of the world, not least America’s capital, “trade” is a dirty word. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden now champion protectionism, and neither president signed a single new trade deal. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is a shell of its former self. So you might think that…

It is the million-person mystery, and its solution will help determine just how strong American growth truly is. According to an official survey of employers, America’s economy has added 1.2m jobs in net terms since the start of the year. But a separate survey of households paints a completely different…

Chinese officials seem pleased with the yuan’s recent progress as a global currency. The international monetary system is diversifying at an accelerating pace, said Pan Gongsheng, the governor of China’s central bank, in March. The yuan has become the fourth-most active currency in global payments, he noted. In trade finance,…

Ahead of America’s election in November, company bosses, financiers and diplomats are busy calling on Donald Trump’s allies, trying to divine the economic policies that the former president will pursue if he is re-elected. But there is one man in Mr Trump’s orbit who holds more sway than most and…

Investors in China’s stockmarket have been doing handsomely this year. The Shanghai composite index has risen by 13% from a multi-year low in February, notwithstanding a recent drop. Equity analysts and state media alike are cheering. For Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the rally was a relief, since retail investors own…

A new paper suggests the answer is “yes”

Many people have experienced the joy of finding some spare change down the back of the sofa. On May 30th the World Bank experienced something similar, if on a grander scale. After rooting around in 176 countries, it discovered almost $7trn in extra global GDP—equivalent to an extra France and…

Days after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Raiffeisen, an Austrian bank, said it was considering selling its business in Russia. Twenty-seven months later, the lender’s unit in the country is doing rather well. Its staff has grown to nearly 10,000, a 7% rise since 2022. Last year its profit reached…

“Equities in Dallas,” cried the traders in “Liar’s Poker”, an account by Michael Lewis of his life as a junior banker in the late 1980s. Demotion from New York to the backwater of Texas would be a humiliation. Who wants to sling shares to yokels? Times may be changing. On…

On June 7th each share in Nvidia will become many. In one sense such stock splits ought not to matter much: they merely lower the share price, usually returning it to somewhere near $100, in order to make small trades easier. Yet for the company and its long-time backers this…

Nothing has been able to stop American consumers. At first they splashed covid-19 savings on home-exercise bicycles; now they are more likely to plump for beachside holidays. Predictions, made by bank bosses last summer, that households would be squeezed by inflation have been confounded. Instead, their outlays have powered American…

Twenty years ago Joshua Cooper Ramo, a consultant, first wrote about the “Beijing consensus”. The Washington consensus of financial liberalisation, floating currencies and openness to foreign capital was, he posited, a damaged brand. China was pioneering its own approach to development based on principles of equality, innovation and a relentless…

When William Nordhaus, who would later win a Nobel prize in economics, modelled the interaction between the economy and the atmosphere he represented the “damage function”—an estimate of harm done by an extra unit of warming—as a wiggly line. So little was known about the costs of climate change that…

How to explain the disparity? India’s economy is growing astonishingly fast, Bangalore and Mumbai have become destinations for bosses of global financial firms and Narendra Modi trumpets the country’s appeal in his electoral campaign. Given the enthusiasm, surely foreign money is flooding into the country. Not quite. In April foreign…

What China’s leader may learn from a pair of reform-minded academics

Buying art can be a nerve-racking experience. But investors have long been able to console themselves with the thought that, if their purchase plummets in value, they will at least have something nice on their wall. Now they can also console themselves that they will have something to borrow against.…

Watch professionals play poker, and one of the first things to strike you is how often they fold when the game has barely begun. Rounds of Texas Hold’em, a popular variant, start with each player being dealt two cards and then deciding whether to bet on them. Amateurs are more…

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group that produces 40% of the world’s crude, wants to keep oil prices high and stable. Lately they have certainly been stable, even if not that high. Despite the recent death of Iran’s president and the escalating war…

Baby-boomers were born between 1946 and 1964—and are the luckiest generation in history. Most of the cohort, which numbers 270m across the rich world, have not fought wars. Some got to see the Beatles live. They grew up during strong economic growth. Not all are rich, but in aggregate they…

Three decades ago much of the housing in China’s cities belonged to state-owned enterprises, which provided homes to workers at low rents. A lot has changed since then. China is now blessed, if that is the right word, with a sprawling commercial property market, which has produced vast numbers of…

At last, it seemed time for a manufacturing take-off. Having struggled to compete with China’s industrial might, other emerging markets stood ready to benefit as their rival’s labour costs surged and rising tensions between it and the West pushed firms to look for new factory locations. Last year foreign direct…

As one of the leaders of the passive-investing revolution, BlackRock is usually a disruptive force in the financial world. But the asset-management giant’s battle with Saba Capital, an activist fund, has cast it in an unfamiliar role: as besieged incumbent. Ten of BlackRock’s investment vehicles, known as closed-end funds, are…

If current forecasts are accurate, 2064 will be the first year in centuries when fewer babies are born than people die. Birth rates in India will fall to below the level seen in America last year. Even with immigration and successful pro-natal policies, America’s population will only have a little…

Governments are splurging on handouts to avert demographic catastrophe

There is only one problem with the chatter about Europe’s “soft landing”: its economy never truly flew. While America’s growth has consistently amazed, Europe’s has been miserable. Exclude Ireland, where national statistics are distorted by multinational companies minimising their tax bills, and the EU’s GDP has risen by about 3%…

Great investors are often known by a signature style. Warren Buffett made it big by investing in companies he thought cheap and holding on for many years. George Soros bet on macroeconomic events, at one point almost breaking the Bank of England. Jim Simons, who died on May 10th at…

The president has turned volatility into profit

Speaking in 2005, Mervyn King, then governor of the Bank of England, outlined his “Maradona theory of interest rates”. The great Argentine footballer’s performance at a World Cup match against England in 1986, Lord King argued, was the perfect illustration of how central bankers ought to conduct monetary policy. Running…

In the early 1990s India abandoned the principles of swadeshi, or self-sufficiency, that had guided its policies since independence. Subsidies were scrapped; import levies tumbled. By 2014 the average tariff had fallen to 13%, from 125% in 1991. Over the same period, exports soared. Yet the country’s exports remain a…

Land in Shenzhen, China’s southern technology hub, is scarce. Plots in years past have grabbed sky-high prices. But when Vanke, one of the country’s largest property firms, puts 19,000 square metres of land up for sale on May 18th, it will do so at a discount of 900m yuan ($125m),…

Just over six years ago, when Donald Trump first announced tariffs on Chinese goods, it was as if a bomb had gone off. American stocks fell sharply at the prospect of a trade war, businesses warned of blowback and economists lined up to decry the move. Such is the protectionist…

Pearls, it is said, represent purity. They may soon stand for something else: business dynamism. In Greenville, South Carolina, two locals have created earrings that look like jewels, but contain a cluster of microelectronics to track body temperature, heart rate and even the wearer’s menstrual cycle. Incora Health was established…

Since Russia began its invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s economy has shrunk by a quarter. But the ravages of war are not the only reason for the government’s reduced tax take. Businesses are also making use of the chaos to dodge paying their fair share. This is particularly true in agriculture,…

On a regular Tuesday morning, a large crowd has gathered outside a grocery store in Xuchang, a city of 4m people. Visit Pangdonglai at the weekend and things are even busier. Thousands, some having travelled hundreds of kilometres, arrive before dawn to take their place in a queue that snakes…

The EU is no stranger to overcapacity. Its economic landscape once featured butter mountains, milk lakes and other landmarks of excess production—the surreal results of its common agricultural policy, which guaranteed high prices to dairy farmers. Thus the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, knew what she…

BARRY CALLEBAUT, the world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate, is full of beans. Its share price has jumped by 20% since April, when it reported higher sales volumes despite a steep rise in the cost of cocoa. Peter Feld, its boss, told investors not to worry about expensive ingredients: “What…

In 2020, when BBVA and Sabadell abandoned merger discussions, it was difficult to find investors with anything positive to say about European banks. A decade of near-zero interest rates, stiff regulation and anaemic economic growth had made them unprofitable and unattractive. The two Spanish lenders were no exception. BBVA had…

Working on a trading desk is perhaps the closest an office job can get to a sport. Focus and reflexes matter. On the other side of every trill of the phone or ding from a computer is a client who wants to trade. If ignored, they will hang up and…

The Plaza Hotel has New York glamour in spades. Sitting at a corner of Central Park, it was the setting for “Home Alone 2”, a film that came out in 1992 in which a child finds himself lost in the metropolis. He takes up residence in one of the hotel’s…

Since Russia invaded in 2022, Ukraine’s economy has shrunk by a quarter. But the ravages of war are not the only reason for the government’s reduced tax take. Businesses are also making use of the chaos to dodge paying their fair share. This is particularly true in agriculture, which before…

When Russia’s leaders stopped most of the country’s gas deliveries to the EU in 2022, they thought themselves smart. Prices instantly shot up, enabling Russia to earn more despite lower export volumes. Meanwhile, Europe, which bought 40% of its gas from Russia in 2021, braced itself for inflation and blackouts.…

Hedge funds take great pains to hide their inner workings. So a recent court case in which Jane Street sued two former employees and Millennium Management, another fund to which they had jumped ship, was immensely pleasing to the firm’s rivals, since it offered a rare view into one of…

One-third of Ivy League graduates end up working in finance or consulting. So perhaps it is unsurprising that campus protesters are providing investment advice: they want university endowments to get rid of assets linked to Israel. At Columbia University, for instance, a coalition of more than 100 student organisations is…

When it comes to economic growth, America comfortably beats Europe. Many factors have fed America’s outperformance, from tech innovation to vast oil reserves. But there is one explanation that seems almost too simplistic: that “Americans just work harder”, as the head of Norway’s oil fund put it in an interview…

The West faces an unprecedented number of new arrivals

The hedge fund’s branding is a clue. 1789 Capital was set up last year and named for the year Congress proposed America’s bill of rights. It offers investors the chance to put money into what it says are three key themes: a parallel conservative economy catering to consumers who want…

When China’s leaders set an economic-growth target of “around” 5% for this year, the goal was universally described as ambitious. Now the country looks increasingly likely to meet it. Several foreign banks, including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, have recently raised their forecasts. Figures released on April 16th showed…

Perhaps it was always too good to be true. The big economic story of 2023 was the seemingly painless disinflation in America, with consumer price pressures receding even as growth remained resilient, which underpinned surging stock prices. Alas, the story thus far in 2024 is not quite so cheerful. Growth…

If any politician has the demeanour to ease tensions with Beijing, it is Janet Yellen. America’s treasury secretary comes across as a twinkly eyed professor, rather than a foreign-policy hawk. Sure enough, she used a recent trip to China, which ended on April 9th, to praise the “stronger footing” that…

In “Permutation City”, a novel by Greg Egan, the character Peer, having achieved immortality within a virtual reality over which he has total control, finds himself terribly bored. So he engineers himself to have new passions. One moment he is pushing the boundaries of higher mathematics; the next he is…

We are hiring a writer on economics, ideally based at first in London. Journalistic experience is not necessary. The ability to write clearly and entertainingly is crucial. So is a thorough understanding of economics and an ability to work with data. The ideal candidate would have an interest in the…

Last year Xi Jinping, China’s leader, paid a visit to Heilongjiang in the country’s north-east. Part of China’s industrial rustbelt, the province exemplifies the problems besetting China’s economy. Its birth rate is the lowest in the country. House prices in its biggest city are falling. The province’s GDP grew by…

Investors differ in their approach to elections. Some see politics as an edge to exploit; others as noise to block out. Even for those without a financial interest, markets offer a brutally frank perspective on the economic stakes. As elections approach in America and Britain, as well as plenty of…

For a brief moment, everyone who owned bitcoin had made money from it. On March 5th the crypto token rose to an all-time high of just above $69,000—a level sure to delight the meme-loving crypto-crowd—before slipping back a little. The record capped a remarkable comeback from the dark days of…

The Economist is seeking promising journalists and would-be journalists to apply for the 2024 Marjorie Deane internship. The successful candidate will spend six months with us in London writing about finance and economics, and receive payment. No previous experience is required. Applicants are asked to send a cv and an…

In the next few weeks, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, hopes to gain final parliamentary approval for an emergency war budget. It includes more cash for settlers in the West Bank, as well as for religious schools, where teenagers study the Torah rather than science—part of an attempt to unite…

In economic terms, an asset has value because an owner might derive future benefits from it. Some assets, like cryptocurrencies, require a collective belief in those benefits. Others, like wine, will undeniably provide future pleasure, such as the ability to savour a 1974 Château Margaux. Still others, like American treasuries,…

Less than two months of 2024 have passed, but the year has already been a pleasing one for stockmarket investors. The S&P 500 index of big American companies is up by 6%, and has passed 5,000 for the first time ever, driven by a surge in enthusiasm for tech giants,…

In midtown manhattan reminders of commercial property’s difficulties are everywhere. On the west side, near Carnegie Hall, stands 1740 Broadway, a 26-storey building that Blackstone, an investment firm, bought for $605m in 2014—only to default on its mortgage in 2022. Soaring above Grand Central station is the iconic Helmsley building.…

Central banks have embarked on austere monetary policy to crush inflation. Worries about the financial system, from bond markets to commercial property to the health of the banks, are ever-present. Some 4bn people will head to the polls this year, with unpredictable consequences. Most concerning of all, the world is…

Universities have boomed in recent decades. Higher-education institutions across the world now employ on the order of 15m researchers, up from 4m in 1980. These workers produce five times the number of papers each year. Governments have ramped up spending on the sector. The justification for this rapid expansion has,…

IT TOOK A jury just four hours to deliberate on the seven, complicated charges of financial fraud facing Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. They had to parse what would make him guilty of defrauding his customers and his lenders; and of conspiring with others to commit…

The path to approval for the first bitcoin exchange-traded funds (etfs) was long and arduous. Applications appeared before regulators in 2013, when the price of a bitcoin was just shy of $100 and nobody had heard of Sam Bankman-Fried or the phrase “to the Moon”. After a decade of rejection,…

“Enough is enough,” declared a Hong Kong judge on January 29th of Evergrande, a failing Chinese property behemoth, and its two-year struggle to avoid repaying its creditors. In a landmark ruling, the court ordered a liquidation of the company, which, with more than $300bn in liabilities, is the world’s most…

The interest-rate market has a dirty secret, which practitioners call “the hairy chart”. Its main body is the Federal Reserve’s policy rate, plotted as a thick line against time on the x-axis. Branching out from this trunk are hairs: fainter lines showing the future path for interest rates that the…

For financial markets the Holy Grail is a perfect leading indicator—a gauge that is both simple to monitor and consistently accurate in foretelling the future. In reality, such predictive perfection is unattainable. It is often hard enough to grasp what is happening in the present, let alone the future. A…

“HOW SHOULD one look at the Chinese economy?”, asked Li Qiang, the country’s prime minister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 16th. “It is similar to looking at the Alps,” he suggested, an “undulating mountain range” that is best appreciated from afar. Official figures released the next…

Science advances one funeral at a time, to paraphrase Max Planck. The Nobel prize-winning physicist was arguing that new ideas in his field would only catch on once the advocates of older ones died off. With a little adaptation he could have been describing the dismal science, too: economics advances…

WHEN JAMES GORMAN took the helm of Morgan Stanley it was barely afloat. His tenure as the bank’s chief executive began on January 1st 2010, in the teeth of the global financial crisis. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, in 2008, fear had spread that other dominoes would soon topple.…

As with every skirmish in America’s culture wars, how you view the ousting of Harvard University’s president has much to do with where you are sitting. Claudine Gay resigned on January 2nd. Progressives see her as a competent administrator who, as Harvard’s first black president, was subjected to a smear…

In late 2021 Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, called for the retirement of “transitory” as a description for the inflation afflicting America. The word had become a bugbear, having been taken by many to mean that the inflation which had bubbled up early in the year would fade…

At some point American economic growth will disappoint expectations. For now, though, it appears to have ended 2023 much as it passed the previous few years, with yet another expansion that defied forecasts. Recent data suggest that the economy grew at an annualised pace of 2.5% or so in the…

By 2050 there will be a new crop of economic powers—if things go to plan. Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, wants his country’s GDP per person to surpass the World Bank’s high-income threshold three years before then. Indonesia’s leaders reckon that they have until the mid-century mark (when an ageing…

Could 2024 be a year unlike any in America’s post-war economic history? Never since 1945 has annual inflation, measured by the consumer-price index, fallen from above 5% to below 3% without a recession at the time of the fall or within the subsequent 18 months. Yet professional forecasters surveyed by…

Chopping off their heads does not work: cockroaches can live without one for as long as a week. Whacking them is no guarantee either: their flexible exoskeletons can bend to accommodate as much as 900 times their body weight. Nor is flushing them down the toilet a solution: some breeds…