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Supreme Court ruling on tariffs leaves uncertainty for Cincinnati businesses, economists say
A local coffee roaster and University of Cincinnati economist explain how shifting trade policies could impact prices and planning across Ohio.
Economist: China’s politics, not prices, driving U.S. ag purchases
The chief commodities economist with StoneX Group says he’s recently become more optimistic about China buying more ag products from the United States. Arlan Suderman tells Brownfield President Xi Jinping is dealing with internal Chinese politics and he needs U.S. support. “My bias at this point is he will survive it, but in the meantime, […]
Rejoice! Private equity is taking over America’s small businesses
Its ghoulish reputation is ill-deserved
Markets are churning furiously beneath a calm surface
AI is prompting investors to reassess every business model under the sun
Missouri and Kansas families pay nearly 10% of income on work-provided health insurance
A new report found that nearly 10% of median household income in Missouri and Kansas goes toward deductibles and premiums. At that level, economists say those households are underinsured.
Donald Trump’s policies are reshaping American health care
And the consequences will ripple through both health and politics
Brain-like computers could be built out of perovskites
The long-hyped materials may have found their niche
The Human Exposome Project will map how environmental factors shape health
It makes the Human Genome Project look easy
US core capital goods orders and shipments increase solidly in December
New orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods increased more than expected in December and shipments of these products surged, cementing economists' expectations that business spending on equipment remained solid in the fourth quarter.
Immigrant-owned businesses in Minneapolis face closure amid ICE fear
Immigrant‑owned businesses in Minneapolis are seeing sharp drops in customers as fear tied to recent ICE activity keeps people away, and some are now closing their doors. A local economist says the impact could be felt for a long time.
Economists and environmental scientists see the world differently – here’s why that matters
Distinct disciplines are trained to notice different things.
Technology for Change Asia 2026 to decode innovation for business growth
Economist Impact will host Technology for Change Asia 2026 on March 11th and 12th at the Hopewell Hotel. This premier event convenes over 700 industry and government leaders to pinpoint solutions that will help businesses prosper in an era of rapid technological shift.
Addicted to your phone? Try “bricking” it
New devices are cementing youngsters’ desire for digital detoxes
Why MAGA brands have been a flop
Conservatives are better at trashing businesses than building them
Arm wants a bigger slice of the chip business
Artificial intelligence is causing the chip designer to rethink its winning formula
Marquette Business graduate student’s passion leads to peer-reviewed article
Six years and two degrees later, Marquette Business graduate Samantha Zingsheim found her calling — and is the proud author of a peer-reviewed article in The American Economist.
The US in brief: Republicans rebel over tariffs
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Soybeans Correct with Corn and Wheat Awaiting WASDE, More China Business
Risk off in the outside markets also played a role in the selling pressure according to Lane Akre, economist with Pro Farmer. However, he doesn't think all the China demand is priced into the soybean market.
The US in brief: Can Congress agree on DHS?
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Editorial: The Legislature sets business up for another hit
Even as economists project more revenue and double-digit increases in biennia to come, the Legislature is looking to cancel three tax breaks for state filers, with business bearing the brunt, The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board writes.
The US in brief: Showing seniors the door
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The elusive Czech at the centre of European business
Daniel Kretinsky still believes in the old continent—but fears its lack of pragmatism
Newborn parties are scrambling Japanese politics
Though small, they have large megaphones
Elon Musk is betting the future of his business empire on AI
The fates of xAI, SpaceX and Tesla are increasingly intertwined
In America science-sceptics are now in charge
The Trump administration seems to want less clean energy and more preventable diseases
Private sector added 22,000 jobs in January, well below expectations, ADP says
The figure reported on Wednesday is below economists’ estimates of an increase of 48,000 jobs and higher than the prior month’s revised reading of a gain of 37,000 jobs.
The US in brief: Shutdown ends, DHS fight begins
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Elon Musk’s mega-merger makes little business sense
The AI economy’s dealmaking keeps getting wilder
The Value of the Mays MBA is Higher Than Ever - Mays Business School News
As Mays Full-Time MBA students graduated in December, each one walked the stage with confidence, pride, and a job offer in hand. While recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal and The Economist highlights decreasing
Colorado economist shares what it takes for strikes to affect economy, drive change
The US in brief: Agents who shot Alex Pretti on leave
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The US in brief: DHS’s first report on Pretti
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
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
The Class Politics of Austerity
A new book by economist Clara Mattei explains why calls for governments to balance budgets and live within their means are often a thinly veiled justification for an assault on the poor.
The US in Brief: Capital offence
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The US in Brief: Fed up
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Gone global: Chinese businesses are booming abroad
A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist
The US in Brief: MAGA v Minnesota
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The US in brief: Cold comfort
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Trump economist Kevin Hassett: 'We're looking at one of the best years we've ever seen'
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to outline President Donald Trump’s sweeping affordability agenda aimed at lowering mortgage rates, cutting credit card interest and boosting economic growth.
Is Trump regretting his battle with the Fed?
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the economist Heather Boushey about why a fight with Wall Street might be one the president regrets
Pro-science Republicans are fending-off cuts to funding
This year’s budget will probably restore much of what the White House sought to eliminate
The US in brief: ICE fires
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
It’s not just the Fed. Politics looms over central banks everywhere
But can the public stomach higher inflation?
Spain’s judiciary is caught up in a bitter political war
The government decries charges of corruption as “lawfare”
The Supreme Court seems friendly towards trans bans in women’s sports
But some justices sound hesitant to impose the rule nationwide
A new generation of Chinese companies is expanding around the world
They are following a different playbook from that of their elders
The US in brief: Rally round the Fed
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The under-the-radar labor market chart scaring economists right now
Is the US labor market in the calm before the storm? Economists say the Beveridge curve is the signal to watch.
Strip out health care and social services, and the U.S. lost jobs in 2025—something that usually happens in recessions
“It’s fair to call this a hiring recession or a jobless boom,” said economist Heather Long.
The US in brief: Distrust and disharmony in Minneapolis
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
The US in brief: The fallout from a fatal ICE shooting
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Optimism reigns for central Ohio economy as recession unlikely in 2026
A panel of experts including economist Bill Lafayette will speak at the Columbus Metropolitan Club's Annual Blue Chip Economic Forecast.
Private sector added fewer-than-expected 41,000 jobs in December, ADP says
The figure reported on Wednesday is below economists’ estimates of an increase of 47,000 jobs and higher than the prior month’s revised reading of a loss of 29,000 jobs.
The US in brief: Trump fears the rule of threes
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Institute of Global Politics Launches American Democracy Initiative
The project is led Columbia political economist Alexander Hertel-Fernandez.
The US in brief: The last Walz
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
An AI revolution in drugmaking is under way
It will transform how medicines are made—and the industry itself
How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions—Behavioral Science Tips That Work
Behavioral economist Katy Milkman explains why most New Year’s resolutions fail and shares how science-backed strategies can build habits that last.
Supreme Court Increasingly Favors the Rich, Economists Say
A new study found that the court’s Republican appointees voted for the wealthier side in cases 70 percent of the time in 2022, up from 45 percent in 1953.
Economists and foreign policy experts react to Trump's Venezuela raid
Financial firms are planning trips to Venezuela to scout out new investment opportunities. Bill Ackman praised the move as "good for America."
Trump admin has moved audaciously to make America ‘business friendly,’ says economist
Panelists EJ Antoni and Michael Faulkender discuss President Donald Trump’s tariffs, minimum wage and more on ‘The Bottom Line.’
A former Trump economic advisor explains why tariffs still worry him heading into 2026
Stephen Moore, the former White House economist who once called for President Trump to receive a Nobel prize, has changed his tune a bit.
The New Year health-insurance shock facing millions of Americans
Four charts show the effects of expiring subsidies
The spiders on the icecaps of Mars
Astrobiologists think they could point to more habitable areas on the red planet
Patriotism tests loom for big business
Economic nationalism makes it harder for multinationals to navigate the world
Cults of personality pervade all levels of Indian politics
The focus is on individuals over institutions
OpenAI faces a make-or-break year in 2026
One of the fastest-growing companies in history is in a perilous position
Nigel Farage is Britain’s most European politician
If there is a European dream, the Reform UK leader has lived it
Tax changes loom large for US economy in 2026
Economists see the tax cuts in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill as a principal driver of the U.S. economy in 2026, both for individuals and businesses. Here's some detail about what's in store.
German business bankruptcies hit decade high amid downturn
Business bankruptcies have climbed to an 11-year high, with small firms hardest hit by Germany's anemic growth. Economists warn of job losses but see tentative signs that the insolvency wave may be leveling off.
A vote against gerrymandering shows why political courage is rare
Yet it is particularly valuable now
Talkin’ around the Christmas tree | Latest US politics news from The Economist
Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter
Katherine Ho, esteemed health economist and ‘true role model,’ dies at 53
Ho, the John L. Weinberg Professor of Economics and Business Policy, was “a brilliant scholar, a charismatic teacher and a devoted adviser,” said department chair Wolfgang Pesendorfer. A memorial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.
A debate is raging over the origins of an elusive cousin to modern humans
Who were the Denisovans?
How dogs make teens feel less anxious
The beneficial relationship is much more than skin deep
MAGA armada | Latest US politics news from The Economist
Our daily political update, featuring the stories that matter
U.S. scientists must compete internationally, just like auto and steel workers do
“We ask auto and steel workers to compete with the world, yet we treat research funding as something that must be protected from it,” an economist writes.
Words of war | Latest US politics news from The Economist
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
Anthony Smith named FAS dean of social science
Smith, an economist and experienced Yale leader, will serve as the FAS dean of social science for a five-year term.
Congress’s health-care endgame | Latest US politics news from The Economist
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.
| Latest US politics news from The Economist
The latest news in US politics, with coverage of Donald Trump’s second term.