Category: Finance

Brussels, 9 October 2025 — Google has announced a landmark investment of €5 billion (US$5.8 billion) in Belgium to expand its artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, marking one of the largest technology commitments in the country’s history. Expansion in Wallonia The investment will primarily support the growth of Google’s data centre campus in Saint-Ghislain, with […]

In today’s hot housing market, winning a bidding war can feel like a triumph. But my research shows it often comes with a catch: Homebuyers who win bidding wars tend to experience a “winner’s curse,” systematically overpaying for their new homes. I’m a real estate economist, and my colleagues and I analyzed nearly 14 million […]

The European Commission (EC) has announced a funding package of €1.1 billion to accelerate the uptake of artificial intelligence across key industries, part of its strategy to reduce reliance on U.S. and Chinese technologies and strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty. Apply AI Strategy The initiative, branded the “Apply AI Strategy,” will channel resources into sectors including […]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, TD, has secured an additional €170 million in Budget 2026, bringing his Department’s overall allocation to €2.3 billion, a 9% year-on-year increase. The package includes €335 million in capital investment and €1.967 billion in current expenditure, aimed at strengthening the resilience, sustainability, and profitability of Ireland’s […]

Oaktree Capital Management, the distressed-debt giant overseeing about $200 billion in assets, is reshaping its investment strategy to capture opportunities from the rapid rise of artificial intelligence while steering clear of sectors most at risk of disruption. Focus on “Picks and Shovels” Rather than backing AI developers directly, Oaktree is concentrating on the infrastructure underpinning […]

Boston, 7 October 2025 — Global investment firm Bain Capital has closed its 14th flagship private equity fund at $14 billion, marking one of the largest private equity mega-funds to reach final close this year. The raise represents a significant step up from its $11.8 billion predecessor and underscores continued investor confidence in Bain’s global […]

A potentially worrisome trend is emerging among young adults. Instead of landing a job and moving to the big city after graduation, many are moving back into their childhood homes instead. About 1.5 million more adults under 35 live with their parents today than a decade ago. That’s a 6.3% jump, more than double the […]

As the federal government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, competing narratives quickly emerged about the cause. Some Republican lawmakers objected to Democrats’ push to include an extension of the expanded Affordable Care Act premium subsidies in a short-term funding bill and cited concerns about long-term spending. Democratic leaders countered that the subsidies are […]

The Trump administration announced on Sept. 20, 2025, that it plans to stop releasing food insecurity data. The federal government has tracked and analyzed this data for the past three decades, but it plans to stop after publishing statistics pertaining to 2024 data. The Conversation U.S. asked Tracy Roof, a political scientist who has researched […]

The economic consequences of the current federal government shutdown hinge critically on how long it lasts. If it is resolved quickly, the costs will be small, but if it drags on, it could send the U.S. economy into a tailspin. That’s because the economy is already in a precarious state, with the labor market struggling, […]