The battle for dominance between the world’s two largest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has reached a turning point. On February 18th, Vanguard’s VOO—an ETF tracking the S&P 500—became the world’s largest, briefly surpassing SPY, a competing S&P 500 ETF managed by State Street Global

During a recent summit in Paris, J.D. Vance, America’s vice president, expressed a bold vision: that the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems would be built on “American-designed and manufactured chips.” While the aspiration is lofty, it faces a harsh reality. Although the

One notable absence from the lineup of tech billionaires at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on January 20th was Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia. Instead of making a public appearance, Huang opted for a quieter approach, meeting with Trump at the White House just over ten days later. The

In 1881, American customs officials intercepted a shipment of sugar, suspecting that its color had been intentionally altered to benefit from lower tariffs. At the time, the duty rate varied based on the sugar’s hue—the darker it was, the lower the tax. Chemical tests confirmed their suspicions,

Elon Musk’s aggressive push to overhaul the federal workforce is facing unexpected pushback—not just from entrenched bureaucrats, but also from political appointees selected by former President Donald Trump.

Facing a fractured transatlantic alliance, European leaders have launched a diplomatic effort to salvage ties and prevent America from stepping away from Ukraine. On February 24th, French President Emmanuel Macron rushed to Washington—just three days ahead of British Prime Minister Sir Keir

The dismantling of America’s senior military leadership began within hours of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20th. The first symbolic blow came when General Mark Milley’s portrait was removed from its place among former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But the real purge followed

On the Mexican side of the border between Nogales, Sonora, and Nogales, Arizona, a dozen soldiers stand watch. Some vehicles heading north are stopped for inspection, while others are waved through. As the busiest crossing point between Sonora and Arizona, Nogales saw approximately 10.6 million

After peaking at 11% year-on-year in 2022, inflation across the developed world had been steadily declining—until now. As central banks begin easing interest rates, inflation is once again creeping upward (see Chart 1). Between September and December, inflation rose from 2.1% to 2.5%.

All American presidents eventually reach a point where they wish they had more power. Most, however, accept that Congress and the courts play an essential role in governance. Donald Trump, in contrast, appears to interpret Article II of the Constitution as a carte blanche for presidential