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Category: Economics/Business

The divestment drive that could shake Israel’s economic foundations

The divestment drive that could shake Israel’s economic foundations

Aharon Porath writes: In late May, the European Union announced a slew of new sanctions on Israeli settler organizations as well as individuals known for violently attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. This was swiftly followed by six European governments, including Britain and France, imposing additional sanctions targeting “networks of financing and support for settler attacks.” France further announced that it was banning Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering its borders due to his promotion of settlements and…

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Nearly a million investors lost a total of $3.8 billion on Trump’s crappy crypto coin

Nearly a million investors lost a total of $3.8 billion on Trump’s crappy crypto coin

The New York Times reports: An up-to-date tally of Trump followers turned crypto investors is in. And for them, the overall results are remarkably bad. Nearly 1 million people who bought President Trump’s memecoin have lost money through the end of June, according to a report by the cryptocurrency analytics firm Nansen. Their losses total $3.81 billion. The analytics firm’s assessment was calculated this week after Mr. Trump signed an annual financial disclosure showing that he walked away with a…

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‘We are screwed’: People near data centers dread heat wave pollution

‘We are screwed’: People near data centers dread heat wave pollution

Politico reports: Data Center Alley is facing a climate test. Searing temperatures this week could push energy demand to record levels on the mid-Atlantic’s electric grid, which fuels the country’s data center boom in Virginia. To relieve some of the pressure, the Department of Energy granted permission Tuesday to the region’s grid operator, PJM Interconnection, to potentially force data centers to use backup diesel generators. The move highlights the growing challenge of meeting rising electricity demand from data centers as…

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China is the only clear winner from Trump’s war against Iran, report concludes

China is the only clear winner from Trump’s war against Iran, report concludes

The Guardian reports: China has emerged as the sole winner in Asia from the strait of Hormuz crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday. The report by the Asia Group thinktank concluded that China had weathered the storm of the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Middle Eastern waterway, and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict. Iran virtually closed the strait, a vital waterway through which much…

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After U.S.-Iran War, Oman said to propose Hormuz joint fee plan

After U.S.-Iran War, Oman said to propose Hormuz joint fee plan

The New York Times reports: Iran and U.S.-allied Oman are moving forward with plans to collect payment for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, despite public American objections, according to an Iranian official and four diplomats with knowledge of the matter. If enacted, the plans would be a significant change from the prewar status in the strategic waterway, underscoring how the American-Israeli decision to attack Iran on Feb. 28 has changed the Middle East in far-reaching and unanticipated ways. Before…

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Iran estimates $40 billion windfall from reopening Strait of Hormuz shared with Gulf states

Iran estimates $40 billion windfall from reopening Strait of Hormuz shared with Gulf states

The Wall Street Journal reports: Iran is pushing to make billions of dollars from the Strait of Hormuz as the regime positions itself to manage the global oil artery it severed at the start of the war. The Islamic Republic estimates that charging for security, safety and environmental services in the strait would bring in $40 billion a year in revenue for states involved, according to officials familiar with the matter. The idea, if implemented, would give Tehran cash flow…

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Beyond denial: How oil industry executives shaped a landmark climate study

Beyond denial: How oil industry executives shaped a landmark climate study

By Katie Worth This story was originally published by ProPublica It is rare that a single scientific paper shapes how people think about a challenge as daunting as climate change. But one, known as “Wedges,” published 22 years ago by researchers at Princeton University, told an irresistible story.  It made solving climate change seem possible, even simple. It claimed that the world didn’t have to wait for innovation because it had the tools to start work immediately. The trick was to…

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Bribery: How a $45 million donation brought Larry Ellison deeper into Trump’s circle

Bribery: How a $45 million donation brought Larry Ellison deeper into Trump’s circle

The Wall Street Journal reports: Larry Ellison didn’t join the gaggle of CEOs that traveled with President Trump on his state visit to China. He wasn’t among the guests at a White House dinner Trump hosted with tech titans. He also skipped the UFC event on Trump’s 80th birthday. The Oracle billionaire didn’t need to be at these public events. Ellison, 81, has developed a more-private friendship with Trump that has helped his tech company’s business as well as his…

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‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies

‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies

Zoe Williams writes: A “centaur”, in automation theory, is a person assisted by a machine, and a “reverse centaur”, hero of Cory Doctorow’s new book, The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI, is a “human who is conscripted into acting as an assistant to a machine”. Every warehouse worker who ever had to urinate in a water bottle because they couldn’t otherwise meet the fulfilment targets set by an algorithm is a reverse centaur. Reaching into the future, everyone…

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Ten years after Brexit, every grim prediction has more than come true

Ten years after Brexit, every grim prediction has more than come true

Geoffrey Wheatcroft writes: “It was Game of Thrones,” says George Osborne. The former Tory chancellor of the exchequer was talking about the fateful referendum 10 years ago, on June 23, 2016, on whether the United Kingdom should remain in or leave the European Union. Or rather, he was talking about one man in particular, and Osborne’s comparison was just right. For Boris Johnson, the referendum—in fact, all of politics, even all of life itself—was a game, although also an opportunity….

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For cash-strapped farmers, deal that might end Iran war comes too late

For cash-strapped farmers, deal that might end Iran war comes too late

The Washington Post reports: The possible end of the Iran war will not cure the drought that has stunted the wheat crop. It won’t secure soybean export orders caught in the U.S.-China trade war. And it will do nothing to promote competition in agriculture, which would help farmers like Jeff Tyson earn a living. Like other growers, Tyson, 55, has seen costs outrun sales this year as the rain grew scarce and government policies added to his burdens. Now, the…

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How a German-U.S. corporate giant became the world’s largest foreign financier of Israel’s wars

How a German-U.S. corporate giant became the world’s largest foreign financier of Israel’s wars

Middle East Eye reports: At the height of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, one company became the single largest foreign financier of the Israeli state – holding more in Israeli government bonds than the US, the UK, France and every other country put together. That company is Allianz, the German insurance and financial services giant, alongside its California-based bond management subsidiary PIMCO, the world’s largest active bond manager. Data shared with Middle East Eye by Profundo, an Amsterdam-based sustainability research…

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Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

Before SpaceX IPO, investors in China secretly acquired stakes

By Justin Elliott and Joshua Kaplan This story was originally published by ProPublica A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company. An entity linked to the Qatari royal family also took a stake. The new details come from a private investor list obtained by ProPublica that sheds light on a particularly delicate issue for Elon Musk’s rocket company: which people in countries like…

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Economic anxiety of Americans is rising up the income ladder

Economic anxiety of Americans is rising up the income ladder

The Wall Street Journal reports: America’s economic anxiety is rising up the income ladder. A new Wall Street Journal poll finds that even those who consider themselves among the wealthiest classes in America carry high levels of concern about their current finances, the years ahead and the prospects for their children. More than 40% of Americans who call themselves upper class or upper-middle class say they haven’t saved enough money to retire comfortably. Only about 40% say their financial security…

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The era of free and open global commerce, underwritten by American power, has ended

The era of free and open global commerce, underwritten by American power, has ended

Edward Fishman writes: The United States and Iran have a deal: For 60 days, Tehran will allow ships to sail through the Strait of Hormuz without charging tolls; in return, Washington will lift its naval blockade, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and help Iran get access to its frozen assets. Negotiations on the future of Iran’s nuclear program are also set to begin. Even if the deal holds, Iran is poised to emerge from the war battered militarily and economically…

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Prediction market philosophers got what they wanted. They’re not happy about it

Prediction market philosophers got what they wanted. They’re not happy about it

Brian Kahn writes: On June 11, Kalshi released a buzzy ad featuring noted New York Knicks fan Timothée Chalamet. It was a zeitgeist-capturing moment for prediction markets, akin to the 2022 Super Bowl, when seemingly every commercial featured a celebrity shilling crypto. Yet when I brought Chalamet’s spot up with attendees at Manifest, a recent festival for prediction markets, I was mostly met with blank stares. These conference goers—a mix of academics, startup founders, job seekers, and players in the…

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