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Category: Economics/Business

Crypto industry weighs the risks of alienating Democratic lawmakers

Crypto industry weighs the risks of alienating Democratic lawmakers

Politico reports: The cryptocurrency industry is at a political crossroads. Reeling from the demise of its longtime top legislative priority, crypto companies must now decide how scorched-earth to go against Senate Democrats, who last week voted unanimously against the so-called Clarity Act, a sweeping bill that would create a bespoke new regulatory framework for digital assets. A crypto-backed PAC network’s move this week provides a hint of what may be to come. The group, known as Fairshake, announced it would…

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AI’s flimsy house of cards puts markets and U.S. economy at alarming risk

AI’s flimsy house of cards puts markets and U.S. economy at alarming risk

Bloomberg reports: The heads of America’s leading AI development labs have started a national conversation about tapping the brakes on a technology that’s offering so much promise for society, while at the same time showing it can do a frightening amount of harm. It’s a debate that needs to be had, and a real solution invariably will be hard to come by. But considering the trillions of dollars of investment gains and market value that have been built on the…

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Cory Doctorow: This is how the AI bubble pops

Cory Doctorow: This is how the AI bubble pops

  “If enshitificaiton is what you do when you’ve grown your market all you can and then you squeeze it, then AI is what happens when you run out of squeezing.” Author of The Reverse Centaur’s Guide To Life After AI Cory Doctorow join The Tech Report’s Isaac Pound to talk about the the narrative and economics of Artificial Intelligence and why the AI bubble needs to end sooner rather than later.

The world economy is becoming wary of the U.S.

The world economy is becoming wary of the U.S.

The New York Times reports: Global investors are balking at U.S. bonds. Talk of the dollar’s dwindling power is getting louder. Foreign governments are hauling their gold out of American vaults. Almost two years into President Trump’s second term, the world economy is increasingly looking for ways to distance itself from America. Concerns about a $40 trillion debt burden, the excessive use of sanctions to solve foreign policy problems and Mr. Trump’s penchant for pushing the limits of the rule…

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AI is taking over job interviews

AI is taking over job interviews

CNBC reports: For both job seekers and employers, AI has already permeated almost every step of the hiring process, from evaluating resumes to writing cover letters. The latest frontier is job interviews. Rather than hopping on a phone or Zoom call with a human recruiter, candidates are increasingly being asked to speak with an AI interviewer as the first step in the hiring process. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of 2,950 active job seekers surveyed by Greenhouse, a hiring platform and applicant…

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‘Tidal wave’ of forever chemicals being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn

‘Tidal wave’ of forever chemicals being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn

The Guardian reports: Pfas [Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] companies are launching a “tidal wave” of forever chemicals production to meet demand from the AI industry, a campaign organisation has warned. Despite alarm over the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, a survey of the 10 biggest manufacturers found most had plans to increase production. Many frame their investments around the “AI revolution”, because of the role Pfas play in semiconductor production and next-generation datacentre cooling systems. But opponents warn…

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Corporate tax payments plunge as AI feasts on new incentives

Corporate tax payments plunge as AI feasts on new incentives

Politico reports: Corporate tax payments are plummeting even as profits soar. A big reason: all that AI spending. The tech world is pouring oceans of money into chips, data centers, power supplies and other components of the artificial intelligence infrastructure. And that’s eligible for generous tax breaks on investments Republicans included in their 2025 tax cuts. The tax incentives weren’t designed with AI in mind specifically — they’re available for all kinds of business investments. But it’s the tech industry…

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EPA expected to remove limits on climate pollution from power plants

EPA expected to remove limits on climate pollution from power plants

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas, according to two people familiar with the proposal. The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency would complete the administration’s erasure of the most consequential climate policies of Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama. If the move survives expected legal challenges, it could also…

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OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says

OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says

Reuters reports: OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence. “I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don’t feel pressure on that,” Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, told Fortune. Growing numbers of US lawmakers ​are calling for new rules to govern AI systems after dire warnings from two researchers from OpenAI rival Anthropic…

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U.S. diesel price tops $6 per gallon, a record high as Ukraine and Iran wars ripple through economy

U.S. diesel price tops $6 per gallon, a record high as Ukraine and Iran wars ripple through economy

CNBC reports: U.S. diesel prices hit $6 per gallon on Friday for the first time ever, as fuel supply disruptions triggered by the Ukraine and Iran wars raises transportation costs across the entire economy. Truckers and farmers are paying about 63% more to fill up their semis and tractors than they did at this time last year, according to data from AAA. The average price nationwide is now about $6.06 per gallon. Prices are even higher in California, the biggest…

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Investors rewarded at the expense of workers: As economy continues to grow, wages fall to a record-low share

Investors rewarded at the expense of workers: As economy continues to grow, wages fall to a record-low share

NBC News reports: It is now the least rewarding time to be a worker in the U.S. economy since the government started keeping track. The share of economic growth captured by labor in the form of compensation like wages fell to a record low last quarter, hitting 52.8%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which began recording the statistic in 1947. In other words, even as the economy continues to grow, worker pay comprises an ever smaller slice of…

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Iran war drives $100 billion in extra energy costs for U.S. consumers

Iran war drives $100 billion in extra energy costs for U.S. consumers

Axios reports: The war in Iran has now cost U.S. consumers $100 billion in higher energy prices, and the bill is rising another $1 million about every two minutes, per a real-time estimate from Brown University as of Monday morning. Why it matters: Energy inflation shows up across the entire economy, and the recent surge in diesel prices in particular threatens to have a dramatic impact on freight and travel in the weeks and months to come. By the numbers: The Iran War Energy…

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As farmers go broke amid rising gas prices, Secretary of Agriculture Rollins profits off them

As farmers go broke amid rising gas prices, Secretary of Agriculture Rollins profits off them

By Georgina Gustin September 6, 2026 This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. As farmers grapple with soaring diesel and fertilizer prices and the Department of Agriculture yanks support for cheaper, renewable forms of energy, the agency’s chief, Brooke Rollins, is carrying millions in highly profitable oil and gas investments. In disclosure reports filed in July, Rollins indicated that she and…

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What it took to dismantle the most powerful corporation in the world

What it took to dismantle the most powerful corporation in the world

William Dalrymple writes: At noon on Feb. 13, 1788, huge crowds gathered outside Parliament to witness members of the House of Lords process into Westminster Hall. They were there to impeach the man who ran much of India as the East India Company’s governor general of Bengal. This was the moment when the British state finally flexed its muscles to take on the greatest corporate oligarch of his day, the Elon Musk of 18th-century London. In addition to about 170…

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Republicans sour on the economy

Republicans sour on the economy

Axios reports: Republicans’ confidence in the economy has plummeted over the last six months at a pace unseen since Covid — reminiscent of the declines during the global financial crisis nearly two decades ago. Why it matters: Usually, the president’s party is upbeat about the economy, while the party out of power is far more downcast. What’s striking now is that Republicans have grown increasingly sour this year, even with a Republican president in office. It’s another in a long list of ominous indicators for President…

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The plot to steal Venezuela’s oil is both vile and deeply stupid

The plot to steal Venezuela’s oil is both vile and deeply stupid

Paul Krugman writes: The United States has an ugly reputation in Latin America — a reputation that, I’m sorry to say, is mostly well deserved. Our government has a long track record of supporting dictators, assisting in the overthrow of democratic governments, and sometimes even sending in the Marines, often on behalf of American corporations trying to pillage other nations’ natural resources. Excluding the Trump II presidency, we have, I think, behaved better in the recent past. And this was…

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