Financial Mindset

Amid all the business risks that Anthropic revealed in its S-1 filing this week , including that its technology could be nationalized or that a bad actor could use Claude to create biological weapons, one potential  pitfall may have been glossed over—the idea that U.S. immigration policies could harm its ability to recruit the best talent. This risk, disclosed by Anthropic Monday, comes as the Trump administration has tried to restrict the number of non-Americans working for companies in the U.S. Although Anthropic did not mention President Trump or the administration directly in the context of immigration policies, the risk brings renewed attention to concerns by companies that cutting back on foreign workers will make the American AI industry less competitive as it struggles for AI dominance with countries like China. The AI company, which is preparing for a potential $2 trillion IPO as early as next month, made clear in its prospectus that good talent gives it an edge...

Chinese audiences may be happy to let AI generate their microdramas—but a fully AI-generated feature film may be a step too far.  China’s first AI-generated feature to release in cinemas, the sci-fi thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past , flopped at the Chinese box office. The movie, produced by Bona Film Group, tells the story of an archaeologist who must save the future world enslaved by AI, according to Chinese state media. It only managed to generate an estimated $180,000 through Monday, according to ticketing platform Maoyan. The film had a budget of $1.5 million, according to AFP . Jiang Defu, the company’s chief operating officer, acknowledged the film’s lukewarm reception in an interview with Chinese film outlet Yuli. Still, he argued Sanxingdui was an important experiment. “We are the first to try it, the first to get a theatrical release permit, and the first to be tested by the audience,” he said. “I think that is not easy at all.” Fortune has reached out to...

The Pentagon wants every major U.S. military base to run for 90 days without outside help if a war cuts off power and supply chains. Across the Atlantic, Britain is telling families to keep canned food, bottled water and cash on hand to get through three days of disruption. The two efforts aren’t known to be coordinated, and neither government has said a new war is imminent. But both are planning for disruptions that could leave homes and military installations without the services they depend on. Inside the Pentagon’s 90-day plan The Pentagon is developing a requirement that every major military installation in the continental U.S. be able to sustain essential operations on its own for at least 90 days, Fox News Digital reported Oct. 25 , citing internal planning documents. The requirement falls under an initiative called FORTRESS, short for Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply, and Survivability. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled F...

Data centers have emerged as a national issue during this midterm election cycle, and candidates for the House and Senate have seized on it in their campaigns. But state and local officials actually have more sway over data center construction and energy infrastructure, so the winners of lower-profile races may hold the economy’s future in their hands. Hyperscalers have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars a year, with forecasts for 2027 topping $1 trillion. JPMorgan has estimated AI-related investment was responsible for about one-fifth of GDP growth over the past year. Analysts at ING believe AI will account for a third of growth in 2026. With Election Day just over a week away and early voting already in full swing in many states, expectations for big Democratic gains could weigh on the stock market, which has sold off in recent days on fears the AI boom will go bust. If there is a further stock slump, it will be because a “blue wave” at ...

Scott Kirby caused a stir last week when he said the U.S. should have a national wealth tax, but the United Airlines CEO didn’t back down and also offered another idea, this time for national service. In a New York Times Q&A last Sunday, he was asked if he’s concerned that the general public has less trust in CEOs. Kirby replied that wealth inequality poses a danger to society and should be addressed. “We should have a national wealth tax—it won’t work by state because people will just move,” he added. “And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100% at some level. I would pay them.” The remarks came as California voters will decide next month on a billionaire tax, which some economists have said could “ kickstart a movement ” that spreads to other states and countries. Conservative pundits and politicians quickly slammed Kirby over his wealth tax comments with some suggesting he should give awa...

Pepsi has suffered many setbacks in recent years, but perhaps few were as symbolic as being jilted by a long-time partner it used to own, KFC.  The fried chicken chain said last week that it would begin replacing PepsiCo’s namesake soft drinks with Coca-Cola products at its 3,700 U.S. restaurants in January. The two companies’ partnership stretches back 40 years, since the time PepsiCo bought the fast food chain. (PepsiCo spun KFC off in 1997.) KFC represents a tiny sliver of Pepsi sales, but the defection reflects the ongoing deterioration of the drink’s brand power . How Coke pulled ahead For decades, the Coke vs. Pepsi cola wars were a part of mainstream culture, with memorable ads showcasing blind “Pepsi Challenge” taste tests of the two drinks. Pepsi’s TV commercials with pop star Michael Jackson and model Cindy Crawford in the 1980s and ’90s became part of the larger zeitgeist. Back then, Coke’s U.S. market share was just a percentage point or two more th...

Canada is the world’s top producer of maple syrup, and the vast majority of it comes from Quebec, but the province is nearly tapped out of reserves. The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, which oversees the strategic syrup reserve, predicted the stockpile will be completely empty by February. While new supplies will continue to be produced, the reserve will not be able to help ease any wobbles in output, which depends heavily on the weather and can be volatile. The strategic reserve consists of three warehouses in Quebec that can hold about 218,000 barrels. Canadian maple syrup has seen demand increase in recent years as producers have diversified to more market beyond the U.S. About 65% of Canada’s syrup exports go to its southern neighbor, down from 80% two decades ago. But last year saw an especially big spike in demand after President Donald Trump launched his global trade war. To get ahead of anticipated tariffs, Americans rushed to buy up Canadian syrup sup...