Category: Finance

Smart brands rein in ad spending when a rival faces a setback − here’s why

Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, McGill UniversityLeave a Comment on Smart brands rein in ad spending when a rival faces a setback − here’s why

Imagine: You’re in charge of marketing for a major automaker, and your biggest competitor just recalled thousands of vehicles. Now customers are worried about the safety of cars like yours. Do you seize the moment and ramp up advertising to steal market share? Or do you pull back on ads, fearing that customers will connect […]

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As Trump tries to slash US foreign aid, here are 3 common myths many Americans mistakenly believe about it

Joannie Tremblay-Boire, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of MarylandLeave a Comment on As Trump tries to slash US foreign aid, here are 3 common myths many Americans mistakenly believe about it

U.S. foreign aid is in disarray. The Trump administration froze most aid disbursements on Jan. 20. According to billionaire Elon Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump with “special government employee status,” the U.S. Agency for International Development, widely known as USAID, had been shut down as of Feb. 3, 2025. Although the Trump administration […]

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As allies prepare to strike back, a costly trade war looms

Bedassa Tadesse, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota DuluthLeave a Comment on As allies prepare to strike back, a costly trade war looms

On Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a plan to slap steep tariffs on imports from key American trading partners – 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on imports from China. His stated reason? To curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Both Mexico and Canada managed to buy some […]

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Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain

Jason Reed, Associate Teaching Professor of Finance, University of Notre DameLeave a Comment on Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain

If U.S. voters reelected Donald Trump hoping for relief from higher prices, his recent threats to impose tariffs on America’s three largest trade partners might make them think again. On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China, which he said would take effect on Tuesday, Feb. […]

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Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money

Dyana Mason, Associate Professor of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of OregonLeave a Comment on Nonprofits that provide shelter for homeless people, disaster recovery help, and food for low-income Americans rely heavily on federal funding – they would be reeling if Trump froze that money

On Jan. 27, 2025, the Trump administration ordered a freeze on federal grants and contracts covering a wide array of aid programs to take effect at 5 p.m. the following day. This freeze was partially prevented when a judge responded to a lawsuit filed by the National Council of Nonprofits and other organizations. The flow […]

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Donors are down, but dollars are up – how US charitable giving is changing

Una Osili, Professor of Economics and Philanthropic Studies; Associate Dean for Research and International Programs, Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana UniversityLeave a Comment on Donors are down, but dollars are up – how US charitable giving is changing

Although the US$557 billion Americans gave to charity in 2023 marked a 2.1% decline in inflation-adjusted terms, U.S. donations have increased significantly over the past two decades. Giving has grown by about 42% since 2003, according to the annual Giving USA report – which our team at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy […]

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How nonprofits abroad can fill gaps when the US government cuts off foreign aid

Susan Appe, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLeave a Comment on How nonprofits abroad can fill gaps when the US government cuts off foreign aid

The U.S. government gives other nations US$68 billion of foreign assistance annually – more than any other country. Over half of this sum is managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, including funds for programs aimed at fighting hunger and disease outbreaks, providing humanitarian relief in war zones, and supporting other lifesaving programs such […]

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Why building big AIs costs billions – and how Chinese startup DeepSeek dramatically changed the calculus

Ambuj Tewari, Professor of Statistics, University of MichiganLeave a Comment on Why building big AIs costs billions – and how Chinese startup DeepSeek dramatically changed the calculus

State-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude have captured the public imagination by producing fluent text in multiple languages in response to user prompts. Those companies have also captured headlines with the huge sums they’ve invested to build ever more powerful models. An AI startup from China, DeepSeek, has upset […]

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Philly Whole Foods store becomes first to unionize – a labor expert explains what’s next and how Trump could stall workers’ efforts

Paul F. Clark, Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, Penn StateLeave a Comment on Philly Whole Foods store becomes first to unionize – a labor expert explains what’s next and how Trump could stall workers’ efforts

Whole Foods workers at the Philadelphia flagship store in the city’s Art Museum area voted to unionize on Jan. 27, 2025. They are the first store in the Amazon-owned grocery chain to do so. Paul Clark, a professor of labor and employment relations at Penn State University, talked to Kate Kilpatrick, The Conversation U.S. Philadelphia […]

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President Carter had to balance employers’ demands for foreign workers with pressure to restrict immigration – and so does Trump

Gabrielle Clark, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Law, California State University, Los AngelesLeave a Comment on President Carter had to balance employers’ demands for foreign workers with pressure to restrict immigration – and so does Trump

President Donald Trump promised during his three presidential campaigns to deport as many immigrants living in the U.S. without legal authorization as possible. His second administration got underway less than one month after former President Jimmy Carter died in December 2024. This sequence of events brings to mind, for me – a public law scholar […]

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