Richmond, Virginia—In a world where nations wage proxy wars over semiconductor supremacy and central bankers treat inflation like a moody house-cat, the Commonwealth of Virginia has decided that the most pressing geopolitical lever available to it is… a tax rebate. Yes, dear global citizen, while the Arctic melts faster than a popsicle in Dubai and…
When Jerome Powell cleared his throat in Washington last week, Tokyo traders paused mid-slurp on their 3 a.m. ramen, Frankfurt algorithms twitched in their sleep, and a bleary-eyed pension fund manager in São Paulo muttered a prayer to St. Jude—the patron saint of lost yields. The Fed Chair’s semi-annual testimony before Congress was billed as…
In the spring of 2025, governments from Reykjavík to Rabat will once again reach into the same threadbare pocket and pull out a fistful of freshly minted cost-of-living payments—those discreet fiscal love-taps meant to convince citizens that inflation is just a passing mood swing. The sums vary: Berlin dishes out €300 per adult, Jakarta opts…
Shoppers of the World, Unite: Retail Sales Data as Our New Global Blood Pressure Reading By Dave’s Locker International Correspondent If you want a quick, painless biopsy of planetary morale, skip the WHO mental-health surveys and just glance at the monthly retail-sales print. Released in a rolling 24-hour relay from Beijing to Berlin to Brasília,…
Walmart Stock Surges, Planet Slightly Winces By Correspondent-at-Large, Dave’s Locker International Desk BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS—While European ministers argue over olive-oil subsidies and Chinese brokers refresh their screens for the next Evergrande shoe to drop, America’s favorite fluorescent temple to bulk mayonnaise has quietly ascended to new stock-price altitudes. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) closed Friday at an all-time…
The Cheap Thrill Is Gone: How Poundland’s Slow Death Mirrors the Collapse of the Post-War Bargain Across the British high street, the fluorescent lights of Poundland are flickering out like cheap candles at a state funeral. Another 150 stores—roughly one in six—will shutter by Christmas, joining the 800 already boarded up since 2018. If you…
