Delta-8 supplements on a shelf at a Texas store. Sergio Flores/Washington Post via Getty ImagesIn Texas, where I live, marijuana has long been illegal. Yet on a busy street in my Houston neighborhood, at least five stores within a half-mile of each other sell cannabis products that promise a strong high.
Donald Trump’s animosity toward multilateralism and international organizations is well known. Just hours after taking office on Jan 20, 2025, the U.S. president announced his intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization and the Paris agreement on climate change.
The gold price has surged to a new all-time high above US$2,900 (A$4,544) an ounce this month.
It has risen by 12% since the start of the year and clearly outperformed US and Australian stock markets. The US stock index S&P500 is up 4% and the ASX 200 has gained just 2% in that time.
That follows an extraordinary run in 2024, when the precious metal surged 27%, the biggest rise in 14 years.
Homeownership – long a cornerstone of the “the American dream” – is increasingly out of reach for the average American. Over the past four decades, U.S. house prices have risen by 75% in real terms, pushing the costs of homeownership for the typical first-time homebuyer to a record high.
Elon Musk holds an outsized influence in the new Trump administration.
The employment rate for people with disabilities is about half that of nondisabled people.
Dr. Swati Dhingra has been reappointed as an external member to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has announced.
We study how disruptions to the supply of foreign critical inputs (FCIs) might affect value added at different levels of aggregation. FCIs are inputs primarily sourced from extra-EU countries with highly concentrated supply, or consisting in advanced technology products, or which are key to the green transition. Using firm-level customs and balance sheet data for Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and Slovenia, our framework allows us to assess how much – and how differently – geoeconomic fragmentation might affect European economies.
Financial challenges at the Whyalla steelworks in South Australia have reignited debate about the nation’s steel industry and its future.
Australians should have access to quality steel at competitive prices. The domestic steel production industry employs tens of thousands of people.
Drop of Light/ShutterstockIt’s exactly three years since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
During that time, Ukrainians have lived through one of the world’s largest and most brutal humanitarian crises. Yet their resilience remains high.
