>
Category

Business

The latest published reporting in this category.

Finance

I’m a wealthy Californian. The billionaire tax is a win for everyone | George Zimmer

The measure would ease inequality and bolster healthcare – without draining our coffers or triggering a billionaire exodus On Tuesday, California voters will decide whether to enact Proposition 40, a one-time, 5% tax on the net worth of about 250 California billionaires. In recent months, a number of California billionaires and their apologists in the media and in government have come out swinging against the ballot measure. I’m not a billionaire, but I’m a Californian wealthy enough to know that they have no valid reason to fight the proposition. For multimillionaires like me, paying a 5% tax

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

Prediction market bettors are the new political pundits. Why are we listening to them? | Judith Levine

Sites like Kalshi and Polymarket offer faux populism as elites reap the benefits – and voters risk being misled Online betting is a bit like Donald Trump. The prediction markets – platforms where users bet on whether events will occur – pretend to be populist, pushing the nabobs aside and representing the “wisdom of the crowd”. “This data is bottom-up, not elites-driven,” a Kalshi ​spokesperson told Reuters. But in fact, the markets are controlled by a few, skillful traders. Continue reading...

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

It’s time to block reckless AI IPOs and tax billionaires | Naomi Klein and Ilana Glazer

We cannot let the billionaire class take unprecedented risks with our future America is a divided country in crisis. Despite the sunny economic forecast coming from the Trump administration, millions of Americans are struggling to find and keep jobs, getting crushed under the rising cost of living, and losing health insurance when they need it the most. Meanwhile, via corporate consolidation and political corruption, the billionaire class is getting richer faster than ever before: a 40% increase in wealth in just the last two years. Today, the combined wealth of nearly 3,000 global billionaire

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

Nine big oil firms on track to share more than $95bn profit two quarters in a row

Windfall for oil corporations such Saudi Aramco and BP comes on back of soaring fuel prices driven by Iran war The world’s biggest oil companies are on track to amass profits of more than $95bn (£71bn) in the third quarter as the war in the Middle East drives up the price of fossil fuels. The windfall war profits have sparked calls for oil corporations such as Saudi Aramco and BP to pay for environmental damage and help the world transition towards renewable energy. Continue reading...

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

Millions in UK brace to remortgage on worse deals as rate rise looms

More than 2.3m households face jump in payments in 2027, after expected increase in Bank of England rate this week More than 2.3m UK households face a sharp rise in mortgage payments as they come off fixed-rate deals in 2027, with the Bank of England expected to begin raising interest rates this week. The Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee (MPC) is widely expected to increase the base rate from 3.75% to 4% on 5 November after UK inflation rose further to 3.5% in September. Continue reading...

The Guardian
Read more