Ben Winck

The trade-policy hammer that Washington has threatened to wield for years is starting to look like a scalpel. The White House on Wednesday took the wraps off its proposal for screening investments U.S.-based funds make abroad, giving President Joe Biden a new tool for “de-risking” from China. But while the government’s inbound-investment reviews have often proven onerous, the pitch for outbound screening should placate investors and even diplomats.

The United States may be over the hump on inflation, but consumers aren’t acting like it. Spending is growing at the same pace as last year, and most Americans expect their finances to either stay the same or get worse, according to a closely watched University of Michigan survey. Lingering restraint will stretch the power of price elasticity to its limits.

After losing popularity for more than four decades, unions are back with a vengeance. Strong demand for workers has given organized workers a stronger hand at the bargaining table. Yet employees are still taking home a smaller slice of companies' income than before the pandemic. Growing labor action will force firms to fork over more of the economic pie.

Former President Donald Trump may be the Republican Party favorite for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, but that hasn’t stopped Wall Street’s star investors from seeking insurance. Several hedge fund rainmakers poured cash into Chris Christie’s campaign over the summer, according to filings released on Monday. The former New Jersey governor’s flagging poll numbers make the donations look like losing bets at first blush. But with legal woes hanging over Trump’s campaign, contributions to the most anti-Trump conservative could become a valuable call option for the group that knows something about hedging.

U.S. politicians' fundraising efforts are looking more fit for TikTok than a functional government. Viral posts and email blasts have bolstered donations for outspoken lawmakers, emboldening some of them to go rogue and contributing to the chaos that gripped the election of the House of Representatives' speaker this week. The new way to create star power will continue to disrupt politics as it has Hollywood.

Unfortunately for Caterpillar , Washington’s construction race is looking less like a marathon and more like a sprint. The $500 billion U.S. infrastructure spending bill, passed in late 2021, helped lift the firm’s third-quarter profit 41% from a year ago. Yet the backlog for Caterpillar products fell. As with other sharp pullbacks after government-supported pandemic spending, Caterpillar will prove that counting on federal aid isn’t a viable business model.

Warmer weather beckons Jeff Bezos. The founder of $1.4 trillion technology giant Amazon is moving back to his hometown of Miami from Seattle, citing the desire to be closer to his family and his rocket ship company Blue Origin. But rising sea levels threaten to leave the Florida town underwater within the next 30 years. It’s not the only questionable real estate decision Bezos has made in the past several years.

There are 362 days until the 2024 U.S. presidential election. And if the political strategist James Carville was right that “it’s the economy, stupid,” the next several months could make or break Joe Biden’s economic record. That, in turn, will shape his chances of winning reelection.

There are 362 days until the 2024 U.S. presidential election. And if the political strategist James Carville was right that “it's the economy, stupid,” the next several months could make or break Joe Biden's economic record. That, in turn, will shape his chances of winning reelection.

I recall meeting someone who had significantly changed their financial life through gig work. What started as a side project to cover unexpected expenses became a substantial income source, providing financial security and a sense of achievement and autonomy.