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Economy

Stories and analysis from The Business Now newsroom.

China’s “Ice Silk Road” After Hormuz: The Arctic Shipping Route That Could Reshape Global Trade Commodities

China’s “Ice Silk Road” After Hormuz: The Arctic Shipping Route That Could Reshape Global Trade

China’s “Ice Silk Road” Is Moving From Vision to Reality For decades, the idea of using the Arctic Ocean as a major commercial highway between Asia and Europe seemed more like a geopolitical thought experiment than a realistic alternative to the Suez Canal. That is beginning to change. China is increasingly looking toward the Northern...

TheBusinessNow Aug 17, 2026 7 min Read
Trump Threatens Oman Over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Talks Reach Critical Point Business

Trump Threatens Oman Over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran Talks Reach Critical Point

Trump Threatens Oman as Strait of Hormuz Crisis Deepens US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Oman, saying the United States could take military action if Oman interferes with Washington’s efforts to control shipping through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The comments, reported on August 17, come at a highly sensitive...

TheBusinessNow Aug 17, 2026 3 min Read
Is the Internet Becoming “Post-Human”? How AI Chatbots Talking to Bots Could Change the Web Business

Is the Internet Becoming “Post-Human”? How AI Chatbots Talking to Bots Could Change the Web

Is the Internet Becoming “Post-Human”? How AI Chatbots Talking to Bots Could Change the Web The internet was built around a simple assumption: there are people on the other side of the screen. A person writes a post. Another person reads it. Someone asks a question, someone else answers. A customer reviews a product, a...

TheBusinessNow Aug 16, 2026 7 min Read
Gen Z Is Moving Investment Money Into Sports Betting: The Warning Sign Behind America’s New Money Habits Business

Gen Z Is Moving Investment Money Into Sports Betting: The Warning Sign Behind America’s New Money Habits

Gen Z Is Moving Investment Money Into Sports Betting: The Warning Sign Behind America’s New Money Habits A new Betterment survey is highlighting a striking shift in how some young U.S. investors think about money: sports betting is increasingly competing with traditional investing for their attention — and, for some, even their investment dollars. The...

TheBusinessNow Aug 16, 2026 3 min Read
Trump Accounts Get a Major Paycheck Boost: Parents Could Invest Pre-Tax Money as Employers Join In Economy

Trump Accounts Get a Major Paycheck Boost: Parents Could Invest Pre-Tax Money as Employers Join In

Trump Accounts Get a Major Paycheck Boost: Parents Could Invest Pre-Tax Money as Employers Join In Trump Accounts are moving into a new phase that could make them much more relevant to working families. New Treasury and IRS guidance says employers can contribute to Trump Accounts for employees or their dependents, while certain payroll arrangements...

James Aug 11, 2026 3 min Read
AI Leverage Warning: The Same Big Tech Stocks Are Powering a Growing Market of Leveraged ETFs Business

AI Leverage Warning: The Same Big Tech Stocks Are Powering a Growing Market of Leveraged ETFs

AI Leverage Warning: The Same Big Tech Stocks Are Powering a Growing Market of Leveraged ETFs AI stocks have become more than a dominant force in the equity market—they are increasingly sitting underneath leveraged exchange-traded products that can magnify daily gains and losses. That concentration is creating a new source of market sensitivity: when the...

James Aug 11, 2026 4 min Read
U.S.-Iran Deal Could Be Closer Than Trump’s Rhetoric Suggests: Pakistan Says Hormuz Talks Near Breakthrough Commodities

U.S.-Iran Deal Could Be Closer Than Trump’s Rhetoric Suggests: Pakistan Says Hormuz Talks Near Breakthrough

U.S.-Iran Deal Could Be Closer Than Trump’s Rhetoric Suggests: Pakistan Says Hormuz Talks Near Breakthrough Pakistan says the United States and Iran may be closer to an agreement than President Donald Trump’s latest hard-line statements suggest, raising fresh hopes that a diplomatic path could eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease pressure on global...

Dino Aug 11, 2026 3 min Read
U.S. Debt Alert: Treasury Is Paying More Than $3 Billion a Day in Interest as Deficit Heads Toward $2.1 Trillion Business

U.S. Debt Alert: Treasury Is Paying More Than $3 Billion a Day in Interest as Deficit Heads Toward $2.1 Trillion

U.S. Debt Alert: Treasury Is Paying More Than $3 Billion a Day in Interest as Deficit Heads Toward $2.1 Trillion America’s fiscal picture is coming under renewed pressure as the federal government faces rapidly rising interest costs and another enormous annual deficit. New Congressional Budget Office figures show that net interest on debt held by...

Linda Aug 11, 2026 3 min Read
U.S. Fires on Panama-Flagged Ship Near Iran Blockade: Vela Nova Incident Raises Fresh Maritime Crisis Fears Business

U.S. Fires on Panama-Flagged Ship Near Iran Blockade: Vela Nova Incident Raises Fresh Maritime Crisis Fears

U.S. Fires on Panama-Flagged Ship Near Iran Blockade: Vela Nova Incident Raises Fresh Maritime Crisis Fears Meta Description: U.S. forces reportedly fired on Panama-flagged ship Vela Nova after it attempted to breach the blockade of Iranian ports. Here’s what happened and what it means. A new maritime confrontation in the Gulf region is putting the...

Linda Aug 11, 2026 3 min Read