Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

On the face of it, an announcement of 25% tariffs against any nation trading with Iran amounts to a major escalation of Donald Trump’s global trade war. But China, Iran‘s biggest trading partner, has kept its reaction pretty brief and pretty bland. “There is no winner in a tariff war,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning…

Online betting site Polymarket indicates heavy odds that the Supreme Court could strike down many of Trump’s tariffs. “The Oracle of Omaha” never claimed to have any oracular powers. I’m referring, of course, to Warren Buffett. The legendary investor wrote in a 2008 New York Times op-ed, “I can’t predict the short-term movements of the…

Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve, or Fed, is the central bank of the United States. One of the main purposes of the Fed is to act as the lender of last resort, allowing banks to borrow from the central bank when needed. The Fed uses three primary tools: reserve requirements, the discount rate, and open…

President Trump has been critical of cost overruns at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters renovation. But Fed chairman Jerome Powell says a Justice Department probe of the project is really aimed at influencing the central bank’s decisions on interest rates. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America hide caption toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America Federal Reserve…

Warren Buffett’s contrarian strategy says investors should be cautious because bullish sentiment and stock market valuations are high by historical standards. The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.16%) has delivered double-digit returns in three straight years, something that has historically preceded lackluster returns in the fourth year. A down year is particularly plausible in 2026 due to…

US stock futures tilted lower on Tuesday as investors braced for a pivotal inflation reading and for JPMorgan (JPM) results to kick off the fourth quarter earnings season. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged 0.1% lower, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) hovered below the flat line. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100…

President Trump’s tariffs have coincided with a weakening jobs market, and many experts think his trade policies will be a headwind to economic growth. Warren Buffett admits he cannot predict short-term movements in the stock market, but his contrarian philosophy says investors should be fearful when others are greedy. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has been…

WASHINGTON ― Republican lawmakers are coming to the defense of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following the opening of an unprecedented criminal probe into Powell by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice over the weekend. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested the investigation into renovations at the Fed’s headquarters is politically motivated, and threatened to oppose…

© CHIEW / Shutterstock.com You don’t have to settle for a moderate yield with moderate upside if you like dividend stocks. Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL), and HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) offer both a high yield and upside potential in the coming years and can greatly outperform the broader market. You can still buy stocks with…

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday, led by a rally in Japan after Wall Street hit more records. U.S. futures edged lower and oil prices gained. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surged 3.1% to 53,549.16 at close, a record. Technology-related stocks helped lift the benchmark. Compute chip testing equipment maker Advantest surged 8.5%.…