Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
Across the United States, small businesses are entering the new year facing a policy shock that many owners say feels uncomfortably familiar. Instead of a virus, the threat now comes from a mix of tariffs, funding cuts and health cost spikes that rivals warn could hit local shops and factories as hard as the Covid…
Some of the most coveted metals on the planet are not just expensive, they are almost unimaginably scarce in Earth’s crust and in accessible ore deposits. Their rarity is rooted in deep planetary chemistry, violent stellar origins, and unforgiving economics that make them far harder to obtain than familiar names like gold or silver. I…
Layoffs used to be framed as a last resort, delivered face to face and wrapped in at least a gesture of gratitude. Now they arrive as calendar invites, system lockouts, and mass emails that treat people like line items. As companies lean on “modern” tools and euphemisms to cut costs quickly, many workers are discovering…
Shaquille O’Neal spent nearly two decades bullying defenders in the paint, but his most lucrative work has come far from the hardwood. Today his sprawling restaurant and franchise portfolio throws off more cash than his NBA paychecks ever did, turning a dominant center into a disciplined owner-operator. The numbers behind that shift tell a story…
Jamie Dimon has turned a simple meeting habit into a quiet competitive edge: he treats every session as a high‑stakes focus exercise rather than a background task. The core move is deceptively small, but it changes how people listen, decide, and execute around him, and it is increasingly cited by leadership coaches as a pattern…
Economic data still shows growth, low unemployment, and resilient spending, yet conversations at kitchen tables and in group chats sound far more anxious. The idea of a “rolling recession” helps explain why life can feel like a downturn even when the headline numbers say otherwise. Instead of one big crash, pressure is hitting different sectors…
Ford customers are being told to expect long waits for basic repairs, and the company’s leadership has a clear explanation: there are not enough mechanics to go around. The story is more complicated than a simple labor shortage, though, and the gap between Ford’s narrative and what researchers see on the ground is where the…
Power costs in the United States are climbing at the same time the federal government is pulling back support for clean energy. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, average household energy bills have risen 13 percent, a spike that is landing hardest on families with the least room in their budgets. The political promise…
Corporate job cuts in the United States have surged again, with more than 1.1 million positions eliminated in 2025 and the total climbing to about 1.17 m as the year closed. The pain is not spread evenly, and a handful of sectors are driving most of the losses as employers restructure around automation, higher borrowing…
The Trump administration is offering six-figure salaries to technologists to rebuild federal systems, then openly positioning those same roles as a springboard into the private sector. The new Tech Force initiative promises up to $195,000 a year for two-year stints inside government, while marketing itself as a fast track to jobs at the very tech…
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