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Economics, News

Surplus in China, Profits in America: The Uneven Rewards of U.S.–China Trade

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U.S.–China trade since China’s WTO entry has produced vast but uneven rewards: American corporations captured high profits by offshoring production to China’s low‑cost labor base while selling into its expanding consumer market, boosting margins and shareholder returns, and giving U.S. consumers cheaper goods. China, meanwhile, gained surpluses, foreign investment, jobs, and rapid GDP growth, transforming into the world’s manufacturing hub. Yet much of the value added and profit flowed back to U.S.… Read more
Economics, News

The Collapse of Homeownership: Why Millennials May Never Own Property

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In previous generations, owning a home by early adulthood was a rite of passage. Today, for millions of Millennials and even Gen Z, the goal of homeownership is becoming increasingly elusive. In the United States and United Kingdom, younger adults face soaring property prices, stagnant wages, and fierce competition that have pushed the dream of owning property out of reach. Meanwhile in China, a very different story has unfolded – homeownership rates have surged to world-leading levels, though not without caveats.… Read more
Economics, News

The Decline of Skilled Trades: Why Plumbers and Electricians Now Earn More Than Graduates

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In recent years, a striking shift has emerged in labor markets on both sides of the Atlantic: many skilled tradespeople now out-earn average university graduates. Data show that electricians and plumbers earn median salaries around $60–62K in the U.S. and £45K–50K in the UK, figures that often exceed what many graduates take home in their first jobs. Meanwhile, college graduates face high tuition costs and mounting debts – averaging $39K in student loans in the U.S.… Read more
Business and Technology, News

Corporate Surveillance: Are Employees Still Entitled to Privacy?

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In the digital age, many employers are using advanced technology to monitor their workforce. This ranges from simple CCTV cameras in office hallways to complex software tracking keystrokes, screen time, and even emotions. A U.S. government report notes that modern “bossware” tools cover a wide spectrum – including cameras, microphones, computer-monitoring programs, GPS trackers, app analytics, and wearable health sensors – across industries like warehousing, retail, trucking, healthcare and finance. (See illustration below.)… Read more
Economics, News

The Death of the Middle Class: Is the Global Economy Designed to Fail Ordinary Workers?

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In recent decades, the “middle class” in advanced economies has come under intense pressure. Across the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, median-income families have seen their incomes stagnate while the costs of housing, education, and healthcare have soared. Their share of national wealth and income has shrunk even as corporate profits and the incomes of the very rich have climbed. Union membership and collective bargaining power have weakened, workplace protections eroded, and new “gig” and part-time jobs have proliferated.… Read more
Economics, News

The Great Wealth Transfer: How the Top 1% Is Reshaping the Global Economy

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Over the next few decades, an unprecedented flow of assets will pass from older generations to their heirs. In the United States alone, analysts estimate nearly $124 trillion in assets will “change hands” by 2048, a sum many call the largest intergenerational transfer in history. Globally, banks and consultancies project on the order of $80–100 trillion will shift from Baby Boomers to Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z in coming decades.… Read more
Economics, News

Over 2 Million Jobless College Graduates: What the Numbers Reveal About America’s Education-to-Employment Crisis

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The latest labor-market data paint a troubling picture: well over one million Americans with bachelor’s degrees remain jobless, a count that is growing and stands near all‑time highs. BLS surveys show that as of late 2024 roughly 1.5 million workers aged 25+ with a BA or higher were unemployed – and by mid‑2025 that number approached nearly 1.9 million. This surge far exceeds the historical norm. For example, on the eve of the pandemic (2019) the number of unemployed college-educated workers was closer to 1.2 million.… Read more
Economics, Finance, News

Dollar Supremacy Fades as Global South Turns Away

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The U.S. dollar has long held an outsized role in global trade, finance, and reserves, a status cemented after World War II and amplified by the petrodollar arrangements of the 1970s. Under the Bretton Woods system (1944–1971), the dollar was pegged to gold and became the linchpin of international finance. After President Nixon ended dollar–gold convertibility in 1971, the United States struck agreements with oil-exporting nations (notably Saudi Arabia) to price oil in dollars and reinvest oil revenues in U.S.… Read more
Financial Management, News

PAPER BILLIONAIRES: Why the Rich Aren’t as Liquid as You Think

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At first glance, headlines about billionaires sound like bulletins from a rich-people lottery: “Elon Musk Worth $500 Billion!” or “Mark Zuckerberg Tops $250 Billion!” It’s tempting to assume such fortunes translate into cash in the bank. In reality, however, most of the ultra-rich’s wealth is not stashed in vaults or bank accounts – it exists as paper wealth tied up in stocks, equity and other illiquid assets. A Tesla share price plunge, a tech stock correction or an economic downturn can instantly vaporize tens of billions of dollars from these net worth tallies.… Read more
Economics, News

From Dollars to Yuan: Africa’s New Debt Strategy Amid Rising U.S. Rates

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African nations have quietly begun restructuring their China debts in yuan, aiming to cut costs and dampen currency risk. In October 2025, Kenya’s finance minister announced that three railway loans – originally borrowed in U.S. dollars – had been converted into Chinese yuan, immediately trimming the country’s interest burden by about $215 million per year. Shortly afterward, Ethiopia’s central bank revealed it was in talks with China to swap a portion of its roughly $5.38 billion owed into yuan.… Read more
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