GLOBAL OUTLOOK

Sub-Saharan African Leaders 

Marcus Gonzalez, ‘28

On Friday, a federal judge ruled that President Trump and Elon Musk’s actions to completely dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Despite this move, leaders in sub-Saharan Africa, the region most impacted by this change, have already predicted large gaps will soon form in their health systems and other humanitarian groups. While the funding freeze has been temporarily halted by the courts, many humanitarian aid leaders have reported that the freeze is still in effect and impacting operations. 

The most critical expenditure for USAID is the support of health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, this aid helps governments to pay for doctors and nurses, but also essential medicines for combating HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. Officials say that material needs are less threatened by this sudden lack of funding, with one Kenyan political scientist estimating that the country has enough HIV medication to last for a whole year. However, what is most pressing is the inability for health centers to pay for doctors and other professionals, with an estimated 40,000 Kenyan healthcare employees losing their jobs due to this move according to USAID.

Another important part of US aid in the region is the extensive food subsidies, exports, and distribution support. One leader of a NGO in Mozambique said that there are over 1,000 tons of food that is in the country but will no longer be distributed.

Ultimately, this decision to slash funding for USAID will have drastic consequences for many ordinary people in less developed countries as humanitarian aid organizations struggle to make up for lost resources.

Panama Bri-Exit

Mateo Alvarez Vergara, ‘27

Looks like Panama just swiped left on China. Last week, Panama officially withdrew from China’s Belt and Road initiative, this decision came shortly after new Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the country and spoke to Panamanian president José Raul Mulino. Mulino that Panama had given the 90-day notice to exit the initiative. Mulino justified his stance by saying that the deal with China had brought little to no benefits, “What has it brought to Panama after all these years”, Mulino mentioned at a press conference. The Belt and Road Initiative sought to bring Chinese investment to Panama that would have expanded infrastructure in logistics, energy and construction sectors. China’s foreign ministry responded by calling the move “coercive”. A Hong Kong based construction firm was also swift to take action, by filing a lawsuit last week that says Panama defaulting on their contracts would be a violation of the Panamanian constitution. However for now, Panama isn’t completely cutting ties with China—just redefining them. Trade between the two remains strong, and China is still one of the biggest users of the Panama Canal. But as the world enters a new era of geopolitical chess, Panama is making it clear: it’s keeping its options open.

Your move, Beijing.

MACRO

Tariff Time: Trump’s Trade War 2.0?

Mosammad Khanom, ‘28

The T-word is back, and no, not Taylor Swift (though, if she writes a breakup song about international trade, I’d absolutely stream it). Trump’s latest tariffs are shaking up global markets, reviving trade war fears, and making import-dependent businesses bite their nails.

Who’s Getting Hit & With What?

Trump’s tariff hammer is coming down on three big trade partners, Canada & Mexico: 25% tariffs on most imports, except Canadian energy gets a discounted 10% tax. How often do you see a Black Friday deal on oil? And then there’s China - a 10% tax. The U.S. is trying to use economic penalties as a sort of “do your homework, or you're grounded” approach to international relations; however, whether this will reduce crime or make things more expensive remains to be seen…

Macro Impacts: What Occurs When Tariffs Are in Sight?

Second Wave of Inflation?

Well, if you thought that the drama of inflation was over, it is not. Tariffs will jack up prices by messing with supply chains, which has Federal Reserve officials in a cold sweat. And if we learned anything from 2021, the supply chain can make toilet paper seem like a luxury good.

Global Monetary Policy Split

The U.S. is playing hardball with tariffs, while central banks in the UK, Eurozone, and Canada are cutting rates to fight potential economic slowdowns. That mismatch could create ripple effects across exchange rates, trade flows, and investment strategies—or, in simpler terms, make your international vacation either super cheap or wildly expensive.

Supply Chain Shakeups

Businesses are racing to adjust their sourcing and pricing models, expecting hoarding, panic buying, and some “completely reasonable” price increases. And let's be real-companies will pass the extra costs onto consumers faster than your friend forgets to Venmo you for dinner.

International Fallout

Even countries not invited to the trade war party may start to feel the heat: think Australia. If there's a mess in global trade, exports, currency values, and investor confidence may suffer. Quite simply, nobody is truly safe from this tariff tantrum.

What's Next?

The markets will watch the tariffs to see if they are a long-term policy or a short-term Trump negotiation tactic. Either way, prepare for higher prices, global drama, and spicy headlines this year.

Job Market Jitters: Is the U.S. Labor Boom Finally Slowing?

Shivam Kwatra, ‘28

The U.S. labor market has been the economy’s golden child—resilient, strong, and seemingly untouchable. But now? It might be catching a cold.

Signs of a Cooldown

Last week, initial jobless claims ticked up to 219,000, a jump of 11,000 from the previous week, leaving analysts raising their eyebrows. While that’s still relatively low, it’s a signal that the labor market might not be invincible after all.

Meanwhile, December’s job report looked solid—a healthy 256,000 jobs added, bringing unemployment down to 4.1%. But hold the champagne, because January’s report (dropping soon) is expected to show just 170,000 new jobs. That’s still growth, but it’s a slowdown. And in this economy, momentum is everything.

Layoff Season?

Big corporations have started trimming the fat, and not just in tech.

• Meta, GM, and Boeing all recently announced layoffs, sending shivers through the job market.

• Even in white-collar roles, hiring freezes are becoming the new normal.

Is this the beginning of a downturn, or just a slight bump?

What’s the Fed Thinking?

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan isn’t ready to cut interest rates just yet. She’s watching job numbers like a hawk, warning that if the labor market stays too strong, inflation could stick around like an unwanted houseguest.

Translation? The Fed might keep interest rates high for longer than Wall Street hopes.

What This Means for You

For now, the job market is still strong, but showing cracks. If layoffs continue and hiring slows, the “soft landing” everyone hoped for might turn into a bumpy ride.

Or Not? Payrolls Jump as Hiring Stays Hot

Francesca Bolastig, ‘27

The Automatic Data Processing Firm (ADP), a payroll processing firm, reported that private sector companies added more jobs in January than expected. This furthers the case for a stable labor market and gives the Federal Reserve some time as it contemplates its next net policy move. 

Wage Growth & Sector Breakdown:

Private sector employers added 183,000 jobs in January, matching December’s gains and exceeding expectations of 150,000.

Additionally, the salary for workers who stayed in their jobs grew at an annual rate of 4.7%, or 0.1 percentage point more than in December. 

While this headline ADP number has topped expectations, the internals show a quite unbalanced picture:

• All job creation came from service providers, who added 190,000 new positions

• Goods producers lost 6,000 positions

• These numbers do not add up to 183,000 total new positions

ADP’s chief economist, Nela Richardson, said, “We had a strong start to 2025 but masked a dichotomy in the labor market, and consumer-facing industries drove hiring, while job growth was weaker in business services and production.”

Who are the top gainers and losers?

Trade, transportation, and utilities topped sectors with 56,000 new positions, leisure and hospitality not close to 54,000, and education and health services adding 20,000. However, manufacturing lost around 13,000 positions. 

Job growth was relatively balanced across business sizes, with mid-sized companies leading the way, adding 92,000 positions.

What does this mean for the Fed?

Fed officials closely watch job activity while considering whether to continue lowering interest rates. The Federal Reserve previously cut interest rates by one percentage point to support a slowing labor market. However, officials are urging patience as they monitor the impact of recent rate adjustments and ongoing tariff concerns.

What is the ADP report, and how does it compare to the BLS report?

The ADP report previews the official nonfarm payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released on Friday. It includes government workers—unlike ADP’s private-sector focus. The BLS report showed a gain of 169,000 payrolls in January, with the unemployment rate at 4.1%.

While the two reports often show discrepancies, ADP has been expanding its sample size for wage data, now covering 14.8 million workers—up from 12 million when it first launched.

The big picture:

The labor market remains strong, but the uneven distribution of job gains and losses highlights the shifting economic landscape. With the Fed taking a wait-and-see approach, all eyes are on whether job growth can stay hot—or if cracks will start to show. 

TECH

Apple Releases Partiful Copycat: “Apple Invites”

Rachel Wanagosit, ‘27

Apple has just released a new app to make custom invites to gather friends and family for any occasion. This sounds strikingly similar to Partiful, which is the most popular platform for creating fun invites in minutes. The core features of creating cute invites and allowing more detailed RSVPs. Partiful has called Apple out by pointing out its guidelines, which it states in a screenshot of App Store rules to “Come up with your own ideas.”

What’s the difference: Partiful v Apple Invites
Partiful:

• Free for anybody to use, inviters and invitees

• Compatible with all phones

• Better cross-platform functionality

  • i.e. share event photos and send text blasts

• App available on iPad and Mac

Apple Invites:

• Creating invites is only available for iCloud+ users 

• Anybody can respond to invites, but it is more difficult for Android users to use, as per usual Apple behavior. To use them, they must provide an email address.

• Integrated with existing Apple apps like shared albums and Apple Music playlists

• Not available on Mac and iPad

• Available on iOS 18 and later

It looks like Apple is just adding value to the iCloud+ bundle for existing users with its integration with Apple’s ecosystem.

eBay’s Acquisition of Caramel: Making Car Sales Hassle-Free, One Deal at a Time

Armaan Karnad, ‘28

Last Thursday (2/6/2025), E-commerce giant eBay finalized its acquisition of Caramel, a Los Angeles-based startup that provides a simple, transparent purchasing experience for used cars– making a conventionally bumpy, stressful process a smooth ride. 

Caramel establishes a high degree of trust in the realm of private car sales, a function that was highly attractive to eBay, which has been battling scams in all products and prices from its inception. Additionally, Caramel’s platform is equipped with the means to handle post-sale administrative work, which often entails working directly with the Department of Motor Vehicles. By aiding eBay’s credibility, and shouldering the burden of working with the slowest government agency in existence, Caramel’s value proposition is clear.

Throughout the last two decades, eBay Motors has co-opted several digital automobile sales solutions such as Cargigi and Motors.co.uk. into its platform. These acquisitions paint a clear picture – eBay wishes to maintain its reputation as the go-to online space for used car sales. 

Boom Supersonic's XB-1 Achieves Historic Supersonic Flight

Carson Panter, ‘28

In a groundbreaking test flight over California's Mojave Desert last Wednesday, February 5th, Boom Supersonic's XB-1 aircraft became the first privately developed jet to break the sound barrier since the Concorde's retirement in 2003. Piloted by Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg, the XB-1 reached Mach 1.1, approximately 761 mph, maintaining supersonic speed for four minutes.

Key Highlights:

• Aircraft: XB-1, Boom Supersonic's demonstrator jet.

• Pilot: Tristan "Geppetto" Brandenburg.

• Location: Mojave Desert, California.

• Achievement: Reached Mach 1.1, sustaining supersonic speed for four minutes.

• Significance: First private aircraft to achieve supersonic flight since 2003.

Advancements in Technology

Boom's CEO, Blake Scholl, attributes the XB-1's success to significant advancements in aerodynamics, materials, and propulsion systems. These innovations have enabled the aircraft to surpass the capabilities of the Concorde, setting a new standard for private supersonic aviation.

Economic Implications

The successful test flight of the XB-1 marks a pivotal step toward the development of Boom's commercial supersonic jet, Overture. Designed to seat between 64 to 80 passengers, Overture aims to service over 600 routes, effectively halving current travel times. For instance, flights from Miami to London could be completed in under five hours.

The reintroduction of supersonic travel holds significant economic potential:

• Airline Investments: Major carriers, including American Airlines and United Airlines, have already placed orders and preorders totaling 130 Overture jets, signaling strong market demand.

• Ticket Pricing: Boom plans to offer fares at approximately 25% of the Concorde's prices, making supersonic travel more accessible to business travelers seeking expedited journeys.

• Industry Revitalization: The resurgence of supersonic flight is expected to stimulate the aviation sector, leading to advancements in technology and potential expansion into the economy class market as the technology matures.

As Boom Supersonic progresses toward making Overture a commercial reality, the aviation industry anticipates a new era of faster, more efficient air travel, with far-reaching economic benefits. 

CONSUMER TRENDS

Tesla Sales Hit Speed Bump in Europe – Is Musk to Blame?

Karam Youssef, ‘26

Elon Musk's tweets might be free, but in Europe, they're costing Tesla sales.

Tesla sales have decreased all across Europe, dropping significantly in the 3 biggest markets: Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Germany saw a 41% drop in 2024, France a 63% percent drop, and the U.K a 12% drop this past January alone. 

In January of 2025 EV sales in the U.K were 35% higher than that of in January 2024. This is causing people to ask: Are Elon Musk’s recent antics to blame? According to the public, yes. 

In a recent survey conducted in the United Kingdom, 60% of people admitted that Elon Musk’s reputation has “actively put them off buying a Tesla.” Musk has aligned himself with multiple far-right groups all over Europe, just recently calling the AfD (Germany’s far right) the country’s savior. Many users have left his app “X” citing misinformation rapidly being spread by Musk as the reason why. This all goes without mentioning his actions as new head of the Department of Government Efficiency or (DOGE) that many across the United States are critical of.

With many more EV options spreading rapidly across Europe through companies such as Volkswagen, Mercedes, and Stellantis, many argue that Tesla is falling behind. They have recently heavily invested in the Cybertruck, but it isn't even legal to drive in most of Europe with a regular license. Many critics feel that Tesla has not innovated after the Model Y in 2020. 

Whether or not Musk is to blame, many believe that his current actions are not helping the Tesla Brand. In a rapidly changing world, Tesla has its work cut out to fight their way back into the European EV market. 

The Hidden Cost of Mining Cobalt: Environmental and Human Rights Impact of Mining in DR Congo

Caitlin Sigler, ‘27

Consumers are often unaware of where the materials from products they consume are being sourced. Smartphones, electric cars, and most batteries have one critical metal in it that is largely used around the world—cobalt. This precious metal plays a significant role in the modern world—but at what cost? 

As the world is attempting to shift its global energy to electric, the demand for cobalt has increased exponentially. Earth.Org reported that “In 2021, the market grew by 22% and is expected to rise by 13% per year for at least the next five years. As such, mines – both legal and illegal – have been appearing all over the nation [DRC], and threatening the pristine tropical rainforest.” Roughly half of the world's cobalt reserves are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the environmental and human rights violations that have occurred as a result of mining have had a devastating impact on the people of DR Congo. Many multinational mining companies have  promoted misleading claims of ‘sustainable mining,’ so they do not deter people from consuming their products; however, a report authored by RAID (a UK based company committed to holding corporations accountable) and AFREWATCH (a DCR-based African Resources Watch) reveals the truth about the devastating human rights abuses and environmental impact of mining. The report, titled “Beneath the Green: A critical look at the environmental and human costs of industrial cobalt mining in DRC” is the first in depth report backed by scientific evidence that sheds light on this issue. 

The communities in DRC have reported that the water there is so contaminated that it is impacting their local ecosystems and agriculture. They are forced to consolidate what little clean water they have, and frequently use contaminated water in their everyday lives. According to RAID, “a staggering 56% of those interviewed report that the pollution is affecting the gynecological and reproductive health of women and girls, resulting in irregular menstruation, urogenital infections, more frequent miscarriages and, in some cases, birth defects. More and more young girls and teenagers also appear to be affected”. This unfortunately is not the only troubling statistic reported. 56% of people have been forced to reduce their food intake to only one meal a day, and 75% of people can no longer afford proper medical care; their health and resources are declining, yet their health risks are only increasing. In addition to these indirect effects of mining, the working conditions in the mines are extremely hazardous. Both children and adults work for hours exposed to contaminated water with no protective gear; all to take home less than $2.  

While the human rights violations and environmental impact are both discouraging, there is still hope to stop the exploitation of the people of DRC and their country’s resources. Local activists have been fighting for a mining reform bill that will increase corporate accountability and protect both workers rights and the communities affected. The world still consumes and relies on cobalt, so an alternative to halting production in addition to this bill would be recycling and repairing used electric items so they can be repurposed. If they are able to be repurposed there is less of a demand for new cobalt straight from the DRC.

How Our Favorite Influencers Influence Our Shopping Habits

Sanjana Alam, ‘28

In today’s society, the power influencers hold has grown exponentially. Influencers are able to shape consumer trends and drive purchasing decisions. As influencers hold a larger following than most, their words are taken verbatim and are able to convince us–the consumer, to purchase based on their reviews of products. Influencers can sway what we buy, how we view brands, and even what lifestyles we wish to have. 

Social media influencers built their influence due to their ability to connect with the audience in a way that makes consumers view them as knowledgeable. When consumers are watching an influencers’ video, the influencer uses marketing techniques that sneakily convince the consumer they need this new item. This is done through the usage of real-life scenarios. The products feel authentic to the consumer because it is coming from someone they trust, and this has to do with what type of influencer they are. 

What makes influencers' words especially effective is their relatability. Traditional celebrity advertisements are typically detached, as consumers cannot relate to the unique lives of celebrities. On the other hand, influencers engage with their followers regularly, building relationships between them. This connection makes the opinions of influencers stronger, and consumers take this into account when purchasing goods. 

Influencers use a variety of techniques in their posts, one being the sense of urgency they create. When reviewing or promoting products, influencers often offer exclusive deals with their discount codes for a limited amount of orders, making followers act quickly, acting on consumers’ fear of missing out. 

However, despite the trust that influencers have, it is important that consumers remain cautious when purchasing products from their influencers. Influencers are oftentimes paid for promotions, in which product reviews in these posts/videos might not be authentic, which could lead to a negative effect on consumers. 

Today, influencers have become a powerful force in consumer trends. By providing personal recommendations with marketing strategies, products appear irresistible, influencing the way consumers shop and interact with brands.