Category: Finance

The Federal Reserve, under pressure from President Donald Trump to cut interest rates and bend to his will, just got an important assist from the U.S. Supreme Court. In Trump v. Cook, the justices took up the case involving Trump’s decision to terminate Lisa Cook, a member of the powerful policymaking Board of Governors of […]

It’s a mantra among business executives that slashing their workforce will streamline operations and increase productivity – a strategic boost to the bottom line. And recent downsizing announcements have been no different, especially at tech companies citing massive disruptions caused by artificial intelligence. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, stated in May 2026 that “this […]

For a country already facing serious humanitarian needs, the two powerful earthquakes that shook Venezuela on June 24, 2026, have made life even harder. Millions of Venezuelans were already struggling to get enough food, medicine, fuel and basic services to survive before this disaster. Now, even more people there urgently need shelter, medical care, clean […]

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, the global data we collect and analyze shows that the country is failing to “promote the general Welfare,” as the Constitution’s framers promised a little more than a decade later. We are scholars of human rights. Alongside the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, […]

Cuba’s economy is collapsing, and its government assets in the United States remain largely frozen. But U.S. corporations have a right to seek compensation from assets the Cuban government seized from American companies more than six decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 23, 2026. In Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporación Cimex, a […]

It’s almost midnight when the phone buzzes – a client text, a comment that needs a reply, a trend that will be stale by morning. For the people who run brand accounts on social media, the workday never really ends. We’re marketing researchers who study digital and social media wellness and teach the students who […]

U.S. charitable giving rose 3% in 2025, surpassing US$600 billion for the first time. The $617 billion that Americans gave to everything from churches to cat rescues was the second-highest ever in inflation-adjusted terms, but it fell short of the record set in 2021, when there was a burst of social services giving in response […]

Alan Greenspan, who died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 100, is best remembered for his 18 years at the helm of the Federal Reserve. What many people don’t know is that an earlier and more obscure stint during the administration of President Gerald Ford shaped him as a public servant. As professors […]

When the Exxon Valdez spilled more than 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989, Exxon President Lee Raymond oversaw the cleanup and a US$1 billion federal settlement for the extensive damage to the coastline and wildlife. Afterward, he helped lead a 14-year legal battle that ultimately got courts to cut […]

American political leadership skews decidedly older than the population as a whole. President Donald Trump turned 80 years old on June 14, 2026. The median age for senators is nearly 65, and the median age for House of Representatives members is almost 58. But are those older people in office a sign that the U.S. […]