Meanwhile, high copper prices have triggered a surge in organized theft
By SIMON CONSTABLE
By SIMON CONSTABLE
The U.S. and Europe are watching closely as Hungarians turned out in record numbers to vote Sunday in a high-stakes election that sets up Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, supported by President Donald Trump, against his former political ally, Péter Magyar.
Trailing in the opinion polls, Orbán received a major boost earlier this week when Vice President JD Vance visited the country, making clear what the administration’s position was on the importance of having a pro-U.S. candidate in the heart of Europe, as so many of its continental allies have proven lackluster, most notably for a lack of help in the war against Iran.
In his remarks, Vance made clear why he was there. "The reason why we're doing it is because we thought there was so much garbage happening against Viktor in this election that we had to show that there are actually a lot of people and a lot of friends across the world who recognize that Viktor and his government are doing a good job, and they're important partners for peace," he said at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, a private university in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. "That's why we're here, but ultimately the Hungarian people are going to be sovereigns because that's how it should be." READ MORE HERE.
• 35 YEARS AGO: The Dow’s 3000 Milestone
By SIMON CONSTABLE
When President Ronald Reagan took office in 1981, America’s economy and stock market began to bounce back. By the summer of 1990, some investors were concerned that the long rally and economic growth were coming to an end. During that time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bashed through the 3000 level on July 13 and July 16, but only intraday. Shortly after that, in October, the market retreated to a low of 2365.10 on the Dow.
By April 17, 1991, with the first Gulf War in the rearview mirror, Wall Street was betting on an economic recovery. And that day, the Dow reached the 3000 milestone—closing at 3004.46. The six-month 27% rally was dominated by growth stocks and, to a smaller level, cyclical stocks.
“What you are seeing here is a market moving on the expectation of economic recovery and being buoyed by lower interest rates,” Edward Kershner, a market strategist at PaineWebber Group, told The Wall Street Journal. READ MORE HERE.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
More than two thousand years ago, Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus coined the phrase, "Change is the only constant." That observation has remained true since his death, but now change is happening even faster, largely due to generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) technology such as ChatGPT or Claude. And that is making many workers even more anxious than usual. But there’s also some good news for people willing to learn.
"Change is always stressful," Liz Bentley, a workplace and career consultant at Liz Bentley Associates in New York, told FOX Business. Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the 1700s was stressful, too. New industries put people out of work, but new jobs were created. "At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, people didn’t know there would be new jobs," she says. We now know the 1700s inventions, including steam trains and mechanical weaving, brought prosperity to the U.K. then to other economies. READ MORE HERE.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
Businesses have long been less than transparent about who gets paid what. But back in 2018, Britain broke the mold and led the way on mandatory gender-pay-gap reporting. It was a landmark step toward pay equity. And at the time, the UK was the largest economy to have embraced such rules.
But the world of pay is changing fast. The UK is reconsidering its existing pay-transparency rules, which are largely voluntary. And the neighboring European Union is attempting to leapfrog the UK with tighter rules.
Meanwhile, many states and cities in the US have put laws on the books requiring job postings to list pay ranges. “The EU saw what Britain did and copied it, then went further,” says Ben Frost, Korn Ferry’s senior client partner in EMEA.
READ MORE HERE.
By SIMON CONSTABLE
By SIMON CONSTABLE
In the 1800s, the United Kingdom was clearly the richest country in the world, with consistent, solid economic growth, a focus on science and engineering, plus all the benefits of trade across the oceans. But now the country seems to have lost its mojo. The country’s living standards have fallen far behind those of other developed economies.
Contrary to popular perception, Britain’s GDP per capita (the income generated by the average person) has lagged behind that of the vast majority of the 50 United States plus Washington D.C., last year, according to forecasts in the third quarter of 2025 by the U.S. government, plus recent International Monetary Fund data. Projections are needed as the final annual GDP figures were not published at the time of writing.
When those states (plus Washington D.C.) compared their GDP per capita, the U.K. would have ranked 50th, behind Alabama, which is forecast to have a nominal per capita GDP of $60,265 in 2025. Britain was slightly worse off, at $60,010, according to the latest data from the U.S. government and the International Monetary Fund. Topping the list was Washington DC with $113,369. Analysts note that the figures don't include the cost of living; however, even with that accounted for, the U.K. still lags significantly behind the U.S. national average. READ MORE HERE.
