Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
The United States finds itself locked in a financial and strategic relationship with Europe that neither side can easily exit. Alpine Macro strategist Dan Alamariu argues that American global dominance depends on maintaining European alliances, and that walking away would carry severe consequences for the dollar and U.S. fiscal health. The analogy of a loveless…
Americans are reshuffling across state lines at a striking pace, and the latest data from federal agencies and private moving companies reveals a clear pattern: Sun Belt states are absorbing residents while a handful of high-cost northeastern and midwestern states continue to lose them. The U.S. population reached 342 million, yet overall growth slowed, making…
Warren Buffett built his fortune on a simple conviction: stocks beat everything else over the long run. He said so repeatedly, calling cash and bonds poor alternatives to equities. Yet Berkshire Hathaway’s balance sheet now tells a very different story, with roughly $381 billion parked in cash equivalents and short-term U.S. Treasury bills as of…
Samsung has secured a contract to manufacture Tesla’s next-generation AI chips in a deal valued at $16.5 billion, the largest single-customer foundry agreement in Samsung’s history. The partnership deepens Tesla’s commitment to building its own silicon for autonomous driving and robotics, and it pulls South Korea squarely into the center of that effort. For a…
Astrion, a defense contractor supporting operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is preparing to cut 61 employees tied to an F-15 contract that the company may not retain. The layoffs, expected on or around May 31, 2026, reflect the recurring instability that contract workers face when military support agreements change hands. For the affected workers,…
Ford’s CEO has discussed a framework with President Trump for allowing Chinese automakers into the United States through joint ventures, a development that signals how quickly the competitive threat from Beijing’s car industry is moving from theoretical to operational. China already dominates global electric vehicle production and trade, and several of its largest manufacturers are…
Britain’s biggest banks are posting enormous profits at a time when the Treasury is under growing pressure to find new revenue. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a political choice that could define her fiscal legacy: whether to impose a targeted levy on the windfall gains banks have reaped from years of central bank bond-buying. The idea…
The U.S. Small Business Administration sent termination letters to 154 Washington, D.C.-based firms in its 8(a) contracting program on February 11, 2026, citing eligibility violations tied to net worth, income, and asset limits. That same agency, over the past year, has been publicly celebrating veteran business mentors and clearing certification backlogs for military entrepreneurs. The…
Bitcoin has moved from the fringes of speculative trading closer to the plumbing of mainstream finance, and regulators are increasingly treating crypto-linked markets as a potential source of stress in a downturn. As central banks, securities regulators, and international financial bodies build guardrails and reporting standards, Bitcoin exposure is becoming easier to access through regulated…
The cryptocurrency industry’s rapid expansion across the United States has generated enormous wealth, but a peer-reviewed study estimates that the boom in large-scale Bitcoin mining is associated with increased air pollution exposure for people living downwind of the power plants that meet that added demand. Researchers found that the electricity demands of large-scale Bitcoin mining…