Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026 cancels the planned hiring of 5,000 new NYPD officers, redirecting those funds toward an expanded racial equity apparatus that includes hundreds of new positions under the Commission on Racial Equity. The decision scraps a hiring timeline set by former Mayor Eric Adams just…
Gold has set new records beyond $5,000 per ounce, and a growing chorus of institutional voices and industry executives now argues that the metal’s run is far from over. The case for a $10,000 price target rests not on short-term speculation but on structural forces: constrained mine supply, accelerating central bank purchases, and a breakdown…
Investor anxiety over the artificial intelligence spending binge has reached its highest point on record, according to Bank of America’s latest Fund Manager Survey. A record share of roughly 35% of fund managers now say corporations are overinvesting in capital expenditures, while about 25% label an “AI bubble” as the single biggest tail risk facing…
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on February 17, 2026, that Canada will pour hundreds of billions of dollars into defense spending, with a deliberate emphasis on building domestic manufacturing capacity and reducing the country’s deep reliance on American military suppliers. The plan represents one of the most significant defense procurement shifts in Canadian history, aiming…
A wave of U.S. Treasury sanctions targeting Russia’s largest oil producers is squeezing the country’s energy sector from every direction, and the firms least equipped to absorb the blow are its smaller, independent operators. With Urals crude trading near $45 per barrel and buyers in Asia pulling back, the financial pressure on companies that lack…
Billionaire John Paulson, a prominent Trump donor who has publicly criticized the practice of shipping American jobs overseas, is now doing exactly that. His company Conn-Selmer has announced a tentative decision to close its Eastlake, Ohio manufacturing plant and move some production to China, potentially eliminating 150 union jobs on or about June 30, 2026,…
Genuine Parts Company, the Atlanta-based conglomerate behind the NAPA auto parts chain, announced on February 17, 2026, that it will break apart into two standalone public companies, one focused on automotive aftermarket parts and the other on industrial distribution. The decision follows months of internal review and external pressure, and it arrives at a moment…
Michigan shed an estimated 20,000 jobs in January 2026, according to preliminary figures cited in this analysis; however, the provided state and federal sources linked below do not themselves document that January payroll change or substantiate a “worst January since 2009” comparison. The losses would follow earlier weakening signals, including a December in which the…
Ford is staking $5 billion on the idea that electric trucks do not need to cost $50,000 or more to win over American buyers. With a new platform, a rethought factory process, and a midsize pickup targeted at roughly $30,000, the automaker is making its most aggressive affordability play in the EV space, yet. Whether…
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest public school system in California, has voted to send layoff notices to a significant number of employees as it grapples with budget pressures that have forced difficult choices at the board level. The decision lands at a moment when public education systems across the state are already…
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