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Melrose businesses flooded again amid rain despite efforts from city workers
Pump trucks were not able to stop stores from getting flooded again.
Americans see bigger tax refunds so far this year as filing season begins at a slower pace
Americans are getting bigger tax refunds this year, with average refunds jumping to $2,290 - up 10.9% from last year, according to the latest IRS data.
Android getting new ‘local file backup’ feature via Google Drive
According to new Google Play Services release notes, Android phones will be getting a “new local file backup feature” with Google Drive.
Opinion | Even far-right foreign leaders are getting sick of Trump’s meddling
Seldom, if ever, have U.S. presidents interceded as brazenly as Trump has done in foreign politics.
Metal Gear's Solid Snake joins the roster of Rainbow Six Siege, finally making a crossover with Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher real
Rainbow Six Siege is getting a new season that focuses on Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake, and a team-up with Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher is on its way.
Exclusive | Companies Are Replacing CEOs in Record Numbers—and They’re Getting Younger
There hasn’t been such a big crop of new leaders running Corporate America in at least 16 years, and they have their hands full.
Islam Makhachev invites Anthony Joshua to Dagestan: ‘Improve your wrestling’
Islam Makhachev still isn’t as popular as his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he’s getting there. One thing that’s helping him is his viral quote, ‘Send Dagestan 2-3 years and forget.’ “It’s not like joke I said at the time,” Makhachev told Arena Fight TV. “I see Daniel Cormier and I’m talking about the wrestling and […]
Taiwan’s EVA Air To Start D.C. Flights Amid Growing Business Ties
Overall travel from Taiwan is also getting a boost this year from GDP growth that topped 12% in the fourth quarter of 2025 from a year earlier
Roob's Eagles Observations: What everyone is getting wrong about Aaron Moorehead
Why Aaron Moorehead is the least of concerns and more here in Roob’s latest random Eagles observations.
Rayman: 30th Anniversary Edition Is Getting A Physical Switch Release
Pre-orders are now live
This week in politics: How Schuylkill County’s legislators voted
Between ongoing budget stalemates and severe partisan divides, it can be easy to feel like nothing is getting done in government. But every week is a busy week in politics, and important developmen…
The shocking, rule-breaking new move in pro wrestling: getting specific about politics
The viral-video chants of “F**k ICE” from the crowd at an All Elite Wrestling bout earlier this month were the latest, loudest sign of a shift within pro wrestling.
The shocking, rule-breaking new move in pro wrestling: getting specific about politics
The viral-video chants of “F**k ICE” from the crowd at an All Elite Wrestling bout earlier this month were the latest, loudest sign of a shift within pro wrestling.
Washington’s competitive edge is eroding
Job growth is stalling, the business climate is getting worse, and energy costs are rising in Washington, when compared to other states.
February 13, 2026
An evolutionary biologist weighs in on mating and dating in the age of apps. Is pair bonding passé? Is single the new married? Plus, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, or RHIC, has ceased operation. What’s next for particle physics? Add, researchers are homing in on how kids reap long-term health benefits from getting dirty, whether cuddling furry pets or playing with friends.
A Climate Supercomputer Is Getting New Bosses. It’s Not Clear Who.
The National Science Foundation said management of the machine, used by researchers for forecasts, disaster warnings and pure science, would be transferred to a “third-party operator.”
A Little Grime Can Boost Kids’ Health. But What Kind?
Researchers are homing in on how kids reap long-term health benefits from getting dirty, whether cuddling furry pets or playing with friends.
Danbury OKs ‘ugly on paper’ zone change to benefit local business
"To be very frank, the petition looks ugly on paper, because we just got finished getting rid of these things,” said Theodore Haddad.
Analysis: How the anti-Trump resistance is slowly stirring
Donald Trump, who once claimed, “I have the right to do whatever I want as president,” isn’t always getting it all his own way anymore.
New God of War Game Shadow Dropping Today, Greek Trilogy Remake Confirmed With Original Kratos
The original Kratos confirms that the Greek Trilogy is getting a remake and that fans can play a brand-new entry in the series right now.
Report finds children with mental health diagnoses often incarcerated instead of getting treatment
Dozens of juvenile detention centers in 25 states reported holding children weeks or months as they awaited space at long-term psychiatric treatment facilities, according to a new survey.
Windows 11 is getting a big security update
Windows 11's next act? Lock it down by default and make every app ask nicely first, tightening control, boosting transparency, and curbing unwanted changes.
‘Diablo 2’ Gets First Major Update in 25 Years With ‘Reign of the Warlock’ Starring Rahul Kohli
Big news for "Diablo II" fans: the Blizzard Entertainment game is getting its first major update in 25 years.
Apple releases iOS 26.3 with updates that mainly benefit non-Apple devices
It's getting a little easier to move from iOS to Android, if that's your thing.
It's Becoming Impossible To Buy A Steam Deck
Valve's popular handheld PC is sold out and people are getting nervous about what this means for the future
Steam Deck OLED sells out in the US at Valve’s official store, here are some regions where it’s still available
Valve hasn't officially announced discontinuation, but Steam Deck OLED stock is getting harder to find amid RAM and SSD shortages.
3 ways UC science is healing broken hearts
UC labs are developing new treatments that don’t just prevent damage from getting worse, but — for the first time in medical history — actually help the heart heal.
Upgraded Google safety tools can now find and remove more of your personal info
The Results About You tool is getting an upgrade.
$585,100 Park Upgrades Coming to West Utica
West Utica parks are getting a major upgrade with new playground equipment, resurfaced courts and more shade for families.
Afraid of getting older? A study links health worries to faster epigenetic aging
Having anxiety about aging—particularly fears about declining health—may manifest on a cellular level and contribute to accelerated aging among women, according to a study by researchers at NYU School ...
Milwaukee Bucks sign former Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas
Cam Thomas has signed with Milwaukee after getting waived by the Brooklyn Nets, the Bucks announced on Sunday. The 24-year-old guard had spent his entire career with the Nets, who selected him out of LSU with the 27th overall pick in the 2021 draft. Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 3.1 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 24.3 minutes in 24 games with Brooklyn this season.
Ancient Chinese medicine may hold the key to hair regrowth
A centuries-old Chinese medicinal root is getting new scientific attention as a potential game-changer for common hair loss. Polygonum multiflorum, long believed to restore dark, healthy hair, appears to work on multiple fronts at once—blocking hair-shrinking hormones, protecting follicles from damage, activating natural regrowth signals, and boosting blood flow to the scalp.
Why Is Health Care Getting More Costly?
It’s not surging profits but expensive new medical services and increased usage.
From COVID’s uncertainty, a stronger small-business culture emerged in Nevada
In the middle of the pandemic, when it seemed like business after business in Las Vegas was closing, Upbeat Health was just getting started. Today, the Summerlin clinic’s mobile wound-care team has grown nearly tenfold, one small example of ...
DC-area sports fans gather to watch Winter Olympics at local bars
As the Milan Cortina Games get underway, locals are getting together across the D.C. region to celebrate what The Games have in store.
"We just got to make sure he's healthy. He's getting …
"We just got to make sure he's healthy. He's getting …
"We just got to make sure he's healthy. He's getting …
"We just got to make sure he's healthy. He's getting …
Rams get exciting Kliff Kingsbury coaching news from ESPN report
The Rams and Sean McVay are getting some big help this offseason.
For Broncos fans, the price of fandom keeps climbing
Going to games is getting pricier, fast.
Dairy Business Association leader says WI ag bills need to pass soon
The executive director of the Dairy Business Association says several bills need to cross the finish line during the final weeks of the Wisconsin legislative session. Chad Zuleger tells Brownfield legislation close to getting final floor votes would help veterinary students pay for their education if they work in rural Wisconsin. “They’re free to do […]
Spotify Is Getting Into the Book Selling Business — And Not Just Digital Ones
The music streaming app is partnering with Bookshop.org to let audiobook listeners buy physical copies.
Even with a Colorado marketplace insurance plan, health care is still too expensive for many
A new study found that people can get the plans, but getting affordable care isn’t a guarantee
‘It’s for the next generation:’ How history-making Olympic hockey star Laila Edwards is embracing trailblazer status
For Laila Edwards, this year’s Winter Olympics is about far more than sport, and that’s something she’s getting comfortable with.
Will Tyler Buchner be QB2 for Notre Dame in 2026?
We talked about Notre Dame possibly getting a portal QB to back up CJ Carr, but this is certainly another way.
Analysis: Trump is beset by hard dilemmas and no easy wins with Iran
Amid a new Iran crisis, it’s getting harder to see how Trump emerges with the kind of crisp, easy win that he craves.
Google's At a Glance widget is finally getting the change we've been waiting for
Easier to read is a win in our book
Locally Preparing for Super Bowl Sunday
The Killabrew Saloon is getting ready for Super Bowl 60 as fans prepare to watch the Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots.
2 WA music stars are getting in on the Super Bowl festivities
The Seahawks are not the only Washington emissaries dispatched to the roman numeraled event in the Bay Area.
We have a miraculous anti-aging vaccine. Why aren’t more people getting it?
Research has found that a routine vaccine slows aging and cut dementia risk.
Teddi Mellencamp recalls getting grounded in front of Sean Penn and Madonna: 'Oh no, I'm in trouble'
'Oh no, I'm in trouble': Teddi Mellencamp recalls the time her famous musician father, John Mellencamp, grounded her in front of Sean Penn and Madonna.
Where is the Badgers biggest area of improvement?
The Badgers are getting better on the defensive side of the ball.
Fact check: The Trump lies an NBC anchor let slide
When President Donald Trump claimed to NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas in a Wednesday interview that “I’m getting – starting to get great polls on the economy,” Llamas quickly pushed back by noting that Trump’s polling on the economy is “not great.”
PS5’s ‘Horizon Hunters Gathering’ Live-Service Game Looks Questionable, At Best
PS5's Horizon Zero Dawn is getting into the live-service game with Horizon Hunters Gathering, and these initial trailers and videos do not look great.
The Monkees Star’s Unforgettable Solo Song Was Originally a Flop
The Monkees singer’s 1971 single didn’t chart, but it became his most remembered TV moment.
The Winter Olympics gets 8 new events, including its first new sport in decades
Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.
New US Army software predicts ammo, supply needs, enemy actions
NGC2 analyzes supply and maintenance needs, getting fixes to soldiers faster. The software also simulates how enemy attacks could influence logistics.
Is Fashion Getting Political Again?
Independent brands and high-profile celebs are speaking up. Will the needle move for luxury fashion?
Lockdown Mode prevented FBI from getting into reporter’s iPhone
After the FBI raided a Washington Post reporter’s home and seized multiple devices, Lockdown Mode prevented them from accessing her iPhone.
IBX’s commitment to getting health care right
Health care costs are weighing heavily on everyday Americans and their families. Across the country, more people are seeking health care and prices for medical care and prescriptions continue to rise. As a result, health insurers are increasing premiums to keep up. At the same time, employer provided health coverage is eating into paychecks. All of this is making it more difficult for hardworking Americans to afford the coverage and care they deserve.
136 schools nationwide awarded grants to improve student, faculty health
DALLAS, Feb. 4, 2026 — Physical activity is vital to American students’ physical health and emotional well-being, helping them learn, concentrate and manage stress throughout the school day, yet most youth are not getting enough movement. According to...
A Grip on Sports: I'm no visionary but it is easy to see the path to the Seahawks' second Super Bowl win
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, yes. Making sure our insides are not outside a safe zone. Turns out, they are doing just fine. Now we can get back to doing what we do best. Getting you ready for the Super Bowl. The one the Seahawks are going to win.
Horry County leaders give OK to controversial mental health site; targeted 2027 opening
CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — A former assisted living facility in Murrells Inlet is getting new life as a mental health hospital after protests from nearby residents who said it would drag down the …
Sony is working on its next Xperia phones, and they’re all but confirmed to go almost global
We are getting a flagship and a mid-range Xperia model this year.
Elon Musk’s mega-merger makes little business sense
The AI economy’s dealmaking keeps getting wilder
Five NBA trade deadline bold predictions, including a Knicks blockbuster
CBS Sports' NBA experts are getting bold ahead of Thursday's trade deadline
Getting the right message to the right caregiver saves health system millions
At HIMSS26, a clinical informatics leader from the University of Maryland Medical System will describe how the organization's EHR-linked, rule-based technology helps ensure clinical notes get to the providers who need to see them.
Offseason open thread: February 2
Busy day, huh? The week’s off to an exciting start so far, what with the news about the future of the Braves on TV/streaming, the Braves having their annual Truck Day and our minor league crew getting their preseason prospect rankings underway. Which one was the most exciting part for you so far? The floor […]
Firefox Getting New Controls to Turn Off AI Features
The Firefox browser is gaining options to turn off AI enhancements, Mozilla said today. Firefox users who prefer to browse without artificial intelligence will be able to turn off several AI features that Mozilla has added over the last several months. Here's what can be disabled: Translations, which help you browse the web in your preferred language. Alt text in PDFs, which add accessibility descriptions to images in PDF pages.
KFF Health Tracking Poll: Prior Authorizations Rank as Public’s Biggest Burden When Getting Health Care
KFF's health tracking poll finds that beyond costs, insured adults say prior authorization is their biggest challenges when accessing care. About seven in ten (69%) insured adults say prior authorizations are burdensome, and a third (34%) choose prior authorizations as their single biggest health care burden.
Windows 11 26H2 confirmed for later this year, as references spotted on Windows Update page
If you're on Windows 11 25H2 or 24H2, you'll be getting Windows 11 26H2 later this year, likely around October 2026.
A complete, science-backed guide to getting bigger pecs
Which exercises are most effective for your pecs? What to know.
Galaxy S26 could save you from spam calls with Google’s help
Are you getting tired of spam calls? Well, the Galaxy S26 could help you stop them, thanks to Samsung's partnership with Google.
NotebookLM's Best Feature Is Finally Available On iOS And Android
NotebookLM has proven to be an incredibly popular AI tool for Android and iOS users, and now it's finally getting its most requested feature.
Sydney Sweeney REJECTS calls to speak on politics
Actress Sydney Sweeney told 'Variety' politics are 'not an area I have ever imagined getting into' while calling for 'respect and understanding.'
The Penguins scoring depth is becoming biggest surprise of season
The Pittsburgh Penguins are still getting contributions from all over their lineup this season.
Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream For Switch?
Go on, tell us
Trump says 'very dangerous' for UK to get into business with China
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday warned the United Kingdom against getting into business with China, saying it would be "very dangerous."
Google gives Pixel Tablet another two years of Android OS updates
Google’s mostly-forgotten Pixel Tablet is getting a new lease on life, as the company is giving its one and only...
Borderlands 4 Finally Gets Photo Mode in Today's Major Update
Borderlands 4 is getting a major update today, including, among other things, the addition of the long-awaited Photo Mode that was announced prior to the game's launch, but was allegedly held due to the need to prioritize polishing other elements.
A Business Owner Is Getting Divorced, Asks Dave Ramsey If He'll Lose The Business. 'She's Actually 98% Owner Of The Business And I'm 2% Owner'
A Texas business owner is facing a painful split, not just from his wife, but potentially from the company he helped build. He says he’s done almost all the work since 2021, but legally owns just 2% of the business. His wife holds the other 98%, a structure their accountant recommended for tax reasons. Divorce And Ownership Don't Match Up Manny, who shared his story on the “EntreLeadership” podcast recently with personal finance expert Dave Ramsey, said, “She’s actually 98% owner of the business
Polar bears getting "fatter and healthier" amid ice loss
Scientists think that Svalbard bears have adapted to recent ice loss by eating more land-based prey.
SF: Zoo Penguins Receive Annual Health Check-Up
Dozens of penguins at the San Francisco Zoo and Gardens received their annual physical exam Thursday, getting their health checked from head to toe.
How much B6 is safe? What to know about the supplement found in energy drinks
Poisoning caused by too much of the popular nutrient is rare, but cases are ticking up. Experts warn that people may not be aware they’re getting too much.
Why some Northern Ireland pubs are 'getting it tight' over rates
Hotels have overall had an 84% rates increase, while pubs have risen by 47% due to an increase in their property valuations..
Iconic sports bar in Palo Alto reopens and prepares for the Super Bowl
Businesses are getting ready for big crowds and watch parties; that includes an iconic spot in Palo Alto that just reopened in time for the Super Bowl.
Android Gets Enhanced Set of Theft Protection Feature Updates
Android is getting a host of new theft protection updates from Google, designed for users on Android 16+. The updates are being built onto existing features, “designed to give you... #Android #Google
Dispatch is censored on Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch
Although there was initially speculation about Dispatch being censored on Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch, it’s now confirmed that this is indeed the case. In the PC and PS5 versions, the game featured a “Visual Censorship” setting. This is gone on Nintendo Switch 2 and Switch, so you’re always getting the censored experience. All scenes are in tact, but there...
Here's what to know about the $50 billion states are getting for rural health
To satisfy Republicans opposed to last summer's cuts to health care, the Trump administration launched an ambitious 5-year initiative known as the Rural Health Transformation Program.
Getting yelled at comes with the job. Why Sacramento youth sports officials still show up
Youth sports officials in the Sacramento region face unsportsmanlike fans that make them sometimes question the work.
Windows 11’s ability to resume Android apps on your PC is getting closer
The feature is now in Release Preview testing
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash
Governor’s goal of getting Oregon on CNBC’s Top 10 States for Business is misguided
Not only are the CNBC rankings irrelevant, the goal could serve as a pretext for giving corporate lobbyists what they’re always after: tax cuts.
Employer Health Insurance Isn't Fitting the Bill. We Need a New Way Forward.
America has a health insurance problem – and it’s only getting worse. These days, most Americans get their health insurance through employer-sponsored health plans. However, that system is becoming increasingly costly, with premiums up 25% in the last five years. And it’s not just individual ...
Android phones are getting more anti-theft features
Google says Android devices will get new security features, like stronger authentication safeguards and enhanced recovery tools.
Arlington health care workers need your help getting to their hospital
VHC Health in Arlington is calling for community volunteers to help transport physicians, nurses, and essential staff to the hospital after heavy snowstorms.
UCF feeling whole again, takes on Arizona State
With coach Johnny Dawkins getting another leader back in his lineup, things are looking up as UCF prepares to host Arizona State on Tuesday night in Orlando, Fla.
Google Photos upgrading ‘Photo to video’ with custom prompts, audio
After last year’s introduction, "Photo to video" generation in Google Photos is getting two notable upgrades today.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream sets Nintendo Direct stream
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is getting an exclusive Nintendo Direct stream on January 29.