Posts by Amelia Frost
A ‘Supersized’ El Niño Is Getting Stronger. The Economic Pain Could Spread Far Beyond The Countries Hit First.
A rapidly strengthening El Niño is expected to become a very strong event before the end of 2026, increasing the risk of drought, flooding and extreme heat across large parts of the world and putting additional pressure on agriculture, food supplies and energy systems. The World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that forecasts from its global…
Read MoreMark Tersigni Outlines the Investment Case for Open-Air Retail Centers
For much of the past decade, the outlook for retail real estate seemed fairly settled. Online shopping would continue taking sales from physical stores, struggling retailers would close locations, and property owners would eventually feel the effects through lower occupancy, rent, and property values. What that prediction didn’t always account for was how different one…
Read MoreDutch Central Bank Moves Gold Out of North America. Geopolitical Unrest Drives The ‘Crisis Preparedness’ Shift.
The Dutch central bank has moved roughly 86 metric tons of gold out of the United States and Canada and into the United Kingdom, reshuffling billions of dollars in reserves as it prepares for potential crises amid growing geopolitical instability. De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB, said Wednesday that just over a quarter of the gold…
Read MoreSam Altman Says The Next AI Models Will Be ‘Sobering.’ OpenAI Is Already Slowing Down To Keep Them Under Control.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is warning that the next generation of artificial intelligence models will force companies to move more cautiously as their capabilities increasingly outpace the safeguards designed to control them, with OpenAI already slowing parts of its development process while preparing to release its powerful Astra model. “The next generation of models are…
Read MoreMaduro Says U.S. Violated Venezuelan Sovereignty When He Was Arrested, Seeks His Release
Venezuela’s former authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro has asked that the drug trafficking indictment against him and his wife be thrown out because he is a head of state and immune from prosecution. CBS News noted that the motion was filed in Manhattan federal court and argues that the case should be dismissed: “No American court…
Read MoreMaduro Says U.S. Violated Venezuelan Sovereignty When He Was Arrested, Seeks His Release
Venezuela’s former authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro has asked that the drug trafficking indictment against him and his wife be thrown out because he is a head of state and immune from prosecution. CBS News noted that the motion was filed in Manhattan federal court and argues that the case should be dismissed: “No American court…
Read MoreOlder People Surpass The Young In The World For The First Time In History: Report
There are now more seniors in the world than young children, and the world will only get grayer as more time goes by, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. The study, called An Aging World: 2025, found that global demographics are rapidly changing, with the world becoming older fast. In fact, for the first…
Read MoreOlder People Surpass The Young In The World For The First Time In History: Report
There are now more seniors in the world than young children, and the world will only get grayer as more time goes by, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. The study, called An Aging World: 2025, found that global demographics are rapidly changing, with the world becoming older fast. In fact, for the first…
Read MoreThe U.S. Once Offered Tax Breaks To Bring In Data Centers. Now Lawmakers Are Racing To Rein Them In.
State lawmakers are introducing restrictions on data centers at a record pace, a sharp reversal from years of tax breaks and other incentives used to lure the facilities as communities push back over electricity costs, water consumption, noise and the rapid expansion of infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence. At least 375 data center-related bills…
Read MoreIran Again Attacked Gulf Countries. Oil Is Climbing Further.
Oil kept climbing on Thursday after Kuwait said it was fending off attacks from Iran. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 0.47% and stood above $96 per barrel at 11:35 a.m. ET, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, climbed 0.84% and clocked in above $91.77 per barrel at the same time. Oil prices have…
Read MoreChina Is Testing Satellites That Can Chase Other Spacecraft. The US Is Building Its Own Countermeasures.
China is testing increasingly sophisticated spacecraft capable of pursuing, approaching and manipulating other satellites, while the United States is building systems designed to protect its orbital assets and disrupt those of an adversary as the two powers prepare for the possibility of conflict extending into space. A secretive Chinese unmanned spaceplane released a small satellite…
Read MoreHostilities Between Iran And Israel Were Subdued For Months. Tehran Is Now Threatening To Escalate.
Iran has warned the U.S. that it will target Israel if it attacks a ridge in Lebanon where military members are holed up along with Hezbollah fighters, according to a new report. The area in question, called the Ali al-Taher ridge, overviews southern Lebanon. Reuters detailed that Hezbollah is believed to have built an underground…
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