Reading up on economy

SpaceX's Starbase expansion in Los Angeles aims to boost local aerospace industry but faces regulatory and community hurdles.

This week’s featured listings include homes in Midtown East, the Upper East Side, and Crown Heights, showcasing current Manhattan and Brooklyn market offerings.

Rising gas prices have driven consumers across income levels to increase visits and spending at Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores.

Bill Gates warned that AI poses greater risks than tech companies acknowledge, citing potential mass unemployment and bioterrorism threats to the future.

Wall Street is overlooking the growing debt burdens of major technology companies.

The article examines a proposed tax targeting Amazon's revenues, analyzing its potential impact on the company's finances and broader e‑commerce regulation.

Moderna's stock nearly tripled in one day after revealing progress on a new mRNA cancer vaccine while Covid vaccine demand fell.

Loudoun County, Virginia, earns substantial tax revenue from over 250 data centers, but officials and residents warn that reliance on this income may be risky.

U.S. national debt surpasses $40 trillion due to war spending, tax cuts, and tariff refunds, undermining promises of fiscal restraint.

San Francisco's rental market has intensified as AI-driven high salaries collide with extreme housing scarcity, pushing rents to unprecedented levels.

Five shoppers across the U.S. are cutting back on groceries by switching to store brands, buying in bulk, meal planning, and reducing meat consumption due to sustained food inflation.

Leopold Aschenbrenner’s $45 billion AI‑focused hedge fund collapsed under excessive leverage just as his wedding guests arrived, forcing a fire‑sale of holdings to Citadel.

The article examines real-world data to assess whether AI is significantly displacing jobs or mostly augmenting work, challenging exaggerated claims about widespread automation.

South Korea’s KOSPI index has experienced wild swings driven by investor enthusiasm and anxiety over the global AI boom in recent months.

Investors with large unrealized stock gains can use tax‑loss harvesting or charitable giving strategies to realize liquidity without triggering immediate capital‑gains taxes.

Nearly 200 economists and tech leaders urge policymakers to better understand and act on AI‑driven disruptions, warning of significant societal and economic risks.

Start-ups are hiring white-collar professionals to train AI models to perform their jobs, creating a profitable yet unsettling shift that threatens future employment.

About one-third of adults under 35 now live with their parents, a share that has rebounded to the levels seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Brooklyn Heights brownstone sold for $24.5 million, setting a new price record for the borough and signaling its shift from affordable Manhattan alternative.

MarketWatch identifies 14 value stocks from the Russell 1000 Value Index with high revenue growth estimates through 2028, noting value stocks tend to outperform growth during high inflation.

A vacant IBM campus in Somers, N.Y. has become a destination for trespassing urban explorers, drawing police responses and local frustration.

A cryptocurrency analytics report found nearly a million investors lost $3.8 billion on the Trump memecoin, with retail investors bearing most losses while savvy traders profited.

The piece catalogs six frustrating aspects of the U.S. financial system, including complex tax forms and hidden fees, advocating for simplification.

Microsoft's disclosure reveals how it uses tax haven subsidiaries to defer billions in U.S. taxes, a practice now subject to new European reporting rules.

Advanced chip packaging, critical for AI computing power, has increased US reliance on Taiwan, with political decisions affecting development efforts.

Even $180,000 tech salaries in San Francisco are insufficient as AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic drive up costs, widening inequality and forcing workers to reconsider staying.

Anthropic's Economic Index shows Claude usage mirrors work and personal rhythms, higher-value work consumes more compute, and users who delegate more are more optimistic about AI's impact.

A proposed California tax on billionaires faces two opposing ballot measures funded by wealthy individuals, highlighting political tensions over inequality.

A bottom-up analysis finds the generative AI economy generated $110B in sales over the past 12 months, with a $175B annualized run rate.

Rising AI demand boosts stock markets and exports in South Korea and Taiwan, but widens economic inequality by excluding most other sectors.

AI boom has fueled a retail investing frenzy in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, with individuals pouring life savings into volatile stocks.

Warsh uses detailed jargon and a penchant for detail to outline a vision for change at the Federal Reserve during a press conference.

Consumer inflation hit a three-year high as rising energy costs drove price increases, while businesses resisted passing costs to consumers with stagnant wages.

Asia's chip suppliers, not just Nvidia, are surging from AI data-center demand, shifting the global tech power balance.

The article chronicles the final service at the Times Square Red Lobster, where regulars and tourists celebrated with seafood and biscuits before the iconic location closed.

British forces independently seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker for the first time, targeting vessels Russia uses to evade sanctions on fuel transport.

A 40-person expert workshop hosted by Windfall Trust concluded political polarization will hinder ambitious AI policy, but inaction will be more costly for the economy and jobs by 2030.

California's proposed billionaire tax is prompting wealthy residents to use charitable giving and vacation-home purchases to reduce their net worth and tax liability.

Bernie Sanders, Trump, and AI companies all support taxing AI but propose radically different methods for redistributing the wealth.

Sluggish growth in online sports gambling has betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings banking on the World Cup to drive record activity.

Switzerland's upcoming referendum will let voters decide on a constitutional amendment capping the population at 10 million to curb migration.

Since early 2025, international markets have outperformed the U.S. — emerging economies up 68%, Europe 45%, Japan 44% — driven by the global AI infrastructure supply chain and corporate reforms.

Trump again mused that average Americans should share in the tech industry's AI wealth, reflecting a growing Washington debate about equitable distribution.

Wealth concentration among billionaires is accelerating due to asset growth outpacing economic expansion, illustrated by Elon Musk's trajectory toward trillionaire status.

Social Security's trust fund will be depleted by 2032, leading to automatic 22% benefit cuts for 68 million Americans unless Congress acts.

The SpaceX IPO exemplifies how hype and speculative optimism, fueled by regulatory changes and an insular investor ecosystem, have broken the stock market's link to fundamentals.

OpenAI plans to raise billions through a public offering, marking a major step in the commercialization of advanced AI technology.

Iran's imploding economy after months of war has created widespread hopelessness and disillusionment, even among those who desired regime change.

Kim Jong-un used the pandemic to tighten control over North Korea and later boosted its economy by exploiting Russia's war in Ukraine.

The Columbus, Ohio area is experiencing a tech and manufacturing boom driven by H1-B and O1-A workers, with local residents seeing no economic benefit but facing doubled power bills.

SpaceX employees and former staffers hold shares worth millions that will become liquid when the company goes public next week.

Goldman Sachs raised South Korea's Kospi index target to 12,000, forecasting another 40% gain driven by the semiconductor cycle that it says markets still underestimate.

The S&P 500 surged 16% in April-May fueled by memory-chip stocks, reminiscent of the dot-com boom, and history suggests further gains ahead.

A 20-year-old part-time worker in the East Bronx supports his family on $18/hour while navigating rent, bills, and future plans.

Tech executives cite A.I. as the reason for layoffs, but data shows job cuts often stem from restructuring and cost-cutting unrelated to automation.

A separatist movement in Alberta has gained enough traction to schedule a provincial referendum on leaving Canada, though the outcome may deepen political divisions.

Despite bubble fears from the furious chip stock rally, five undervalued semiconductor stocks are positioned to remain standing when the party ends.

Hacker News discussants argue that AI productivity gains will not result in shorter work weeks, as employers capture the surplus and competition prevents collective action.

Over a quarter of UBS's family-office clients have reduced or plan to reduce dollar assets, shifting investments towards Western Europe and China due to concerns about the weakening reserve currency.

Plunging pork prices in China hit a 16-year low, driven by weak consumer spending and an oversupply of hogs, highlighting economic challenges.

China's state-owned tobacco monopoly generates immense tax revenue, making it nearly impossible for the government, even under Xi Jinping, to reduce smoking rates despite health campaigns.

Amid economic slowdown, Chinese consumers are shifting toward domestic luxury goods, eroding the market share of traditional European prestige brands.

A survey finds 61% of Americans cut back on groceries, and over 75% (including 55% of Republicans) blame Trump's policies for rising costs.

California Governor Gavin Newsom proposes a policy allowing workers to gain equity in companies based on their contributions to AI-driven productivity gains.

30-year U.S. Treasury yields hit highest level since 2007 due to inflation fears, with elevated yields also seen across Europe and Asia.

The US 30-year Treasury yield surged to 5.20%, its highest since 2007, driven by inflation fears from the Iran war and mounting deficits.

A Menlo Ventures partner says the AI boom has created a stark divide where roughly 10,000 people have achieved retirement wealth while many software engineers face layoffs and career uncertainty.

The U.S. national debt exceeds GDP, but the real risk is rising interest costs that crowd out other spending and slow growth.

As of March 2026, U.S. debt totals $39 trillion, with domestic investors holding $17.7 trillion and foreign holders $9.3 trillion.

Midwestern households keep roughly one-third of income after essentials and taxes, while residents of Hawaii and California retain as little as 9-11%.

Young adults in New York and other cities face bleak job markets, rising rents, and debt that delay traditional milestones like homeownership and marriage.

The next Fed chair inherits an economy with cooling inflation but faces pressure from the White House to cut rates and manage a fractured Fed committee.

Honda reported its first annual loss since 1957 after booking a multibillion-dollar charge from shrinking its electric-vehicle initiatives.

The piece examines whether Chinese companies will continue relocating to Singapore following a crackdown on Manus, a key intermediary for such moves.

Tencent posted its weakest revenue growth in six quarters, rising 9% to 196.5 billion yuan, intensifying investor demands for faster returns from AI.

China's AI hardware suppliers are being hit by capacity constraints and component shortages, which threaten to throttle the growth of the artificial intelligence industry.

European AI-focused stocks surge as the US-driven technology rally broadens to global markets, lifting the region's few prominent AI plays.

Consumers increasingly resist subscription models for everyday goods and services, signaling a backlash against recurring payments for everything from streaming to toilet paper.

Chris Hohn’s hedge fund reduced its $8 billion stake in Microsoft, signaling a warning about the potential disruption from artificial intelligence.

Stock investors bet on huge profits despite war, while bond investors focus on risks, causing a divergence between exuberant stocks and subdued bonds.

Trump and Brazil's Lula met for trade talks but skipped a joint appearance after months of rocky relations.

Paul Tudor Jones predicts AI bull market has one to two years left, likening it to 1980s Microsoft and 1995 internet booms.

The final televised California governor debate saw candidates clash on housing and insurance before turning to personal attacks.

The Pope's customer service issue with a bank was resolved not by miracle but by a priest's personal connection to the bank president.

Over the past 10 years, 15 stocks created $27 trillion in shareholder wealth, led by tech companies with wide economic moats and strong growth.

Costa Rica and other nations in Latin America, Asia, and Africa are increasingly adopting electric vehicles to reduce vulnerability to fluctuating oil prices.

A satirical browser museum contrasts past prices with today's costs to argue middle-class affordability has collapsed, drawing criticism for ignoring inflation and quality improvements.

Special purpose vehicles allow investors to buy shares of SpaceX before its IPO, enabling many to own stock in the private rocket company.