Financial Mindset

The AI productivity boom will soon make America richer, say the two leaders of the American economy—Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh —so much so that it’ll be deflationary; and enough that we can forgo worrying about our $40 trillion debt even.  But analysts are starting to wonder: richer for whom? Workers’ share of U.S. income has already fallen to its lowest level on record, while corporate profit margins keep breaking records quarter by quarter. According to Gregory Daco, the EY-Parthenon chief economist, the productivity gains that explain that divergence largely predate the AI boom. “Productivity growth protects margins, not income,” Daco wrote in a note Thursday.  Economic output grew 1.7% in the second quarter, just based on 0.3% more hours. Compensation rose 2.6%, which, set against a spring and summer of oil-driven inflation, comes out to “flat to slight contraction” in real ter...

The National Parks in the past year have been through a reckoning. The Grand Canyon has seen ravaging floods in the past week, sparking search and rescue missions and damaging nearly 40% of its sole water pipeline. The national park also saw wildfires on its northern edge in 2025, making the floods the second natural disaster to hit the park in the past year.  But the Grand Canyon isn’t the only national park weathering the elements. Yosemite National Park is battling wildfires and shutting down Highway 140 as a result. Now, the park is on its way to lose even more land, but this time it’s not due to mother nature. According to reports from CNN and NOTUS , the transferring of about 700 feet of the park is reportedly being discussed between the National Park Service and the private developer Kingsbarn Realty Capital in order for the developer to build a road to a parcel of land abutting the national park. In a statement to Fortune, the Department of Interior, which include...

As a child, Jonathan Spano had one dream: to be a military pilot. It was swiftly shattered when he learned the U.S. Navy required near-perfect eyesight to fly—a standard he could never meet. So he launched his own business instead. And it’s done so well that decades later, he’s been able to splash out millions on flying lessons and his own aircraft to fulfill his childhood dream. Now, he’s the stunt pilot behind some of Top Gun: Maverick ‘s most acclaimed aerial sequences. “I was just fascinated with airplanes; I would build little models of them, hang them from the ceiling with a fishing line in my room. And like many, many young boys, when the Top Gun movie came out, I was obsessed and wanted to fly planes in the Navy and land on aircraft carriers,” Spano told Fortune .  As he got older, the now 48-year-old CEO realized that no amount of passion, pining, or studying would set him on that career course. “I learned that you had to have better than perfec...

Russia will close German cultural centers on its territory, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday in a retaliatory measure reflecting the  deepening tensions  between Moscow and European countries that are helping Ukraine resist the  Kremlin’s 4 1/2-year-old invasion. Lavrov’s announcement came after Berlin blamed Moscow for  an attempted drone attack  at Leipzig/Halle Airport on Aug. 4. The explosives-laden drone was found near a Ukrainian plane at the airport, a major international freight hub used for providing  support to Ukraine . The drone was later defused. Earlier Thursday in Munich, several incendiary devices were thrown at a construction site near a building where several companies, including from the defense sector, are located, the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office said. There was a brief fire that caused no significant damage, police said, adding they suspect the target was one of the companies in the area. T...

An “erosion of multilateralism” is changing Asia’s push for sustainability, as countries pursue individual goals of energy security and supply chain resilience instead of “virtue signalling,” says Rahul Ghosh, global head of sustainable finance and emerging markets at Moody’s Ratings.  “Ten years ago, the world was aligning around consistent climate policies, but now we’re starting to see a bit of divergence,” he says, as countries instead pursue what he dubs a “pragmatic transition,” one that balances sustainability with energy security and economic affordability—usually by allowing traditional fossil fuels to play a role. Geopolitical conflict has driven much of the reassessment of the green transition. First, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 caused a surge in fuel prices, causing an energy crisis throughout much of the developing world.  February’s U.S. strikes on Iran and the resulting closure of the Strait of Hormuz also cut Asia’s supplies of oil and gas...

Iran fired on U.S. allies in the Gulf early Wednesday following  a night of American bombardment  that Iranian state media says included a deadly strike on a wedding party. The latest violence came after a monthlong lull in fighting. The six-month war has led to a spike in oil prices,  roiled the global economy  and posed increasing  political problems  for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections. Fighting has escalated since the American military hit Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the  Strait of Hormuz  over the weekend, saying Iran was planning to use them to lay mines. Iran retaliated by firing missiles at American bases in Jordan that were intercepted. American military resources  are stretched and political pressure in Washington is mounting, while Iran’s economy  has been battered  by sanctions and an American naval blockade. Iran’s currency hit another record...

The House passed a short-term measure Tuesday to fund the federal government into early December, a move designed to avoid a chaotic shutdown as lawmakers campaign for reelection. Lawmakers needed to act before the fiscal year concludes at the end of September to avoid a funding lapse. They were determined not to bump up against that deadline during the campaign season following this past year’s historic shutdowns. The House passed the bill by a vote of 370-48. The Senate has already  overwhelmingly approved  the measure, so it now moves to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. “It gives the nation and our constituents certainty, certainty that the government will remain open, certainty that our service members will be paid,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. A record  43-day shutdown  occurred last fall when the two parties disagreed on renewing an expiring  tax credit  that lower...