Financial Mindset

Sometimes, when relationships and world politics give people plenty to be angry about, the impulse is to go outside, disconnect, and be one with nature. But for some women, it means letting out a good guttural scream . At Lumalia Emmy Armstrong’s Holy Rage Retreats in the Oregon woods near Portland, small groups of women gather among the trees, expressing themselves through sound and movement. In intimate groups of up to 10 women, hearing one woman growl can give another permission to do the same. Later, they burn letters written during a group discussion and close the retreat with a song. A group of adults growling in the woods might sound like an unusual way to spend an afternoon, let alone money. But organizers are selling something they say participants struggle to find elsewhere: a place to be angry without judgment. Prices vary widely. Armstrong charges $600 for a 3.5-hour session , while the Bay Area CBT Center advertises multi-day rage retreats for up to $4,500 p...

The new, bipartisan legislation to expedite the construction of energy projects—and power the AI boom—is creating strange bedfellows and opponents. In a rare instance, the fossil fuel industry is united with renewable energy, while some environmental groups are pitted against the green power sector. There’s arguably more momentum than ever for the seemingly boring topic of infrastructure permitting reform, but it could be the most important decision Congress makes from now until January for the future of the tech boom, the environment, and energy affordability. Power demand is rising at a nearly unprecedented scale—largely, but not entirely, driven by the data center construction spree—and electricity and utility prices are spiking for a myriad of reasons, including rising demand and antiquated infrastructure. In short, the legislation accelerates permitting timelines for everything from solar farms and power lines to oil and gas pipelines, makes it harder for presidential...

The latest attack on the international airport in  Saudi Arabia’s  capital of Riyadh killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, with some in critical condition. The attack was the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, whose fronts have expanded to include the recent surge in fighting between the  Iran-backed Houthi rebels  in Yemen and Saudi-backed government forces there. The statement, which did not assign blame for the attack, said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured were being treated at several hospitals. The attack — the latest of several in the past week on King Khalid International Airport that  killed  four people — is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military s...

Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel said faster economic growth is unlikely to keep U.S. debt in check, even if GDP expands at more than double its current pace. Gross debt is now $40 trillion, and publicly held debt is 100% of GDP. Just keeping that ratio flat, let alone bringing it down, would require a massive, sustained boom. For now, CBO see the debt-to-GDP ratio soaring to 120% by 2036. During a Minneapolis Fed conference on Thursday, Swagel said stronger economic growth will help by bringing in more revenue for the federal government, but it’s not that simple. Federal spending also boosts growth, which lifts wages that in turn affect outlays on Social Security benefits, he pointed out. A robust economy also tends to send interest rates higher, which adds to debt interest costs. “So growth will help, but it’s probably not plausible that growth alone will stabilize our fiscal trajectory,” Swagel added. “So then we...

Musicians often see an instrument as a physical extension of themselves and that sort of connection doesn’t always lend itself to the online shopping experience.  “Selecting a musical instrument is a deeply, deeply personal experience,” says Gabe Dalporto, CEO of Guitar Center. It’s something you have to touch and hear and smell for yourself. A guitar that seems appealing on a website might not speak to a player trying it out in real life, Dalporto says.  Dalporto, 56, is a true believer in the need for brick-and-mortar stores, and he’s made them a pillar of his turnaround of Guitar Center, the once-bankrupt music instrument retailer that’s betting big on customers’ desire for an in-person shopping experience, where newbie and veteran musicians alike can tinker with instruments and tap into employees’ know-how.  Guitar Center’s comeback is still a work in progress, but Dalporto, a nuclear engineer by training and bona fide music nerd, wants the retailer to of...

The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new sanctions on the International Criminal Court as part of its campaign to dismantle the tribunal over investigations into the United States and its allies, including Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions Friday, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to South African jurist Navi Pillay , a former judge at the ICC and other international courts. Trump has coveted that prize for himself. “We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate against us,” Rubio said in a video address posted to social media. “The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.” The sanctions cut the court off from U.S.-based financial services, technology companies and even using U.S. dollars. They set a six-month timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the court to wind that business dow...

Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon will livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan in December but told reporters that if it is livestreamed, “I’m not going to be watching it.” The Republican vice president said, “I don’t know that that’s actually going to happen,” when asked about the plans that the Pentagon confirmed Thursday. But Vance then tried to set aside the controversy over the shocking plans for a public execution and said Hasan’s crimes should not be forgotten. Hasan was convicted of killing 13 people and injuring 32 others in a shooting spree at the military base in 2009. “So whatever the controversy is about the method of the execution, I hope that people don’t forget that this is a guy who brutally murdered a lot of innocent people,” Vance said. “Now, that said, I mean, look, if it’s ultimately livestreamed, I’m not going to be watching it,” he added. Vance is a convert to the Catholic Church, which...