Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
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…
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…
Some young Americans who cannot afford a down payment appear to be putting whatever savings they can into brokerage accounts, potentially building wealth through equities rather than home equity. Federal Reserve reporting on household housing conditions shows affordability pressures remain a major barrier for younger and lower-income adults trying to buy homes. The upshot may…
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…
Hyatt Place is testing a paid breakfast option at more than 40 U.S. hotels, putting pressure on one of the most reliable perks in mid-tier lodging. The pilot suggests something broader than a single brand trimming costs: as inflation and labor expenses squeeze hotel operators at every level, the complimentary morning meal is increasingly a…
California’s proposed one-time tax on billionaires, cleared for signature gathering on December 26, 2025, could accelerate a domestic migration trend that has already drained the state’s population for more than two decades. The measure would impose a levy of up to 5% on individuals and trusts holding covered assets valued over $1 billion, and it…
Peter Navarro, a senior adviser in the Trump White House, has publicly warned that tech companies like Meta may soon face pressure to absorb the full infrastructure costs of their sprawling data center operations rather than shifting those expenses onto residential electricity customers. The warning comes as Louisiana regulators have already approved major new power…
Four states are spending far more at the pump than the rest of the country, and the forces behind those prices are not temporary disruptions or seasonal spikes. California, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon sit atop the national gas price rankings, each paying well above the national average, and the reasons trace back to a combination…